Legend has it that just as he was about to retire, a white stork took off from a tower on the walls and left the city with its baby on its back.

The superstitious Attila at that sight ordered his army to stay: shortly after the part of the walls where the tower left by the stork was located collapsed.

After the capture of Aquileia, Attila's advance to Milan took place without difficulty as no city attempted resistance but all opened their doors to the invader out of fear.

No chronicles have come down to us that have described the events in detail, but from indirect testimonies, such as the subsequent letter from Massimo II, bishop of Turin, to the Milanese, it is clear that the battle was bloody and the city was almost completely destroyed.

[4] Flavius Aetius, the Magister militum of the Western Roman Empire had been unable to meet Atilla in battle.