as liutprand of cremona mentions, after returning home, the hungarians used the winter to prepare their weapons, sharpen their arrowheads, and to teach to the youth how to fight. then in 899, a hungarian army, crossing pannonia, headed to italy. the historians do not agree about the road they took. gyula kristó argues that they bypassed pannonia, and went westwards following the courses of the rivers sava and drava, and entering italy near aquileia, on the road named after them "strata hungarorum", due to the fact that they used it so often during the next decades and centuries. according to istván bóna, the hungarian army, with the permission of arnulf, crossed pannonia, then headed towards italy on the ancient road via gemina, which linked the ancient cities celeia, ljubljana and aquileia, arrived in italy. the historians' opinions differ also about the period of the year in which the hungarian army arrived to italy. according to kristó, basing on the account of liutprand, they arrived in february–march. bóna believes, according to the account of "catalogus abbatum nonantulorum" that they arrived in august 899.