In 1325, two powerful Italian city-states — Bologna and Modena — went to war.

Over a wooden bucket.

At least… that’s how the story is usually told.

The conflict, known as the War of the Bucket, was actually part of a much larger political struggle between rival factions in medieval Italy. Tensions had been building for years. Raids, insults, and power struggles were already simmering. But according to tradition, soldiers from Modena stole a bucket from a well in Bologna — and Bologna demanded it back.

They didn’t get it.

Instead, thousands of soldiers met on the battlefield. Bologna, despite having the larger army, was defeated at the Battle of Zappolino. And the bucket? Modena kept it as a trophy.

Today, a wooden bucket (said to be the original, though historians debate that) is still displayed in Modena. Whether it truly started the war or simply became its most memorable symbol, the story stuck.

And that’s the thing about history — sometimes it’s not the massive political tensions people remember.

It’s the bucket.