Two Italian cities went to war largely over a stolen wooden bucket

In 1325, the long-running rivalry between Modena and Bologna erupted into open battle after a raiding party from Modena stole an oak bucket from a Bologna well. Thousands died at the Battle of Zappolino, and Modena kept the bucket as a trophy, a weathered wooden pail that still hangs today in a tower in Modena, commemorating one of history's more one-sided plunder stories.

— Historical record, War of the Bucket — Battle of Zappolino, Modena-Bologna conflict, 1325