The wars in Italy

With this term we refer to the long conflict during which France and Spain contended each other the control of Italy, from the French invasion led by Charles VIII in 1494 to the peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559. These wars marked an end to the independence of the Italian states. Charles VIII descended into Italy in 1494 to conquer the reign of Naples. Whilst he did enter Naples with ease, he was then defeated at Fornovo near Parma in 1495 by an alliance of Italian states. In 1499, the French attacked again under the leadership of their new king, Louis XII, who occupied the Duchy of Milan, ousting XII Ludovico il Moro. A new French sortie to Naples in 1501 obliged King Ferdinand of Spain to enter the war and provoked the collapse of the reign of the House of Aragon in Naples. The clash between the French and Spaniards saw the latter prevail, who established themselves in southern Italy in 1503. Julius II intervened in 1508 with the League of Cambrai, set up to contrast Venice, joining forces with France. The Venetians lost their territories on dry land at the battle of Agnadello in 1509. It was again Della Rovere who turned the tables and set up the Holy Alliance against the French in 1512. After the Battle of Ravenna the French were ousted from Milan, which was returned to the Sforzas. Another king of France, Francis I, took Milan back with the Battle of Marignano in 1515. In the meantime, Charles V, who had inherited both the Spanish crown and the Imperial crown, beat the French at Pavia in 1525. In 1526 the Italian states allied themselves with France and England against Spain, joining the League of Cognac. In the meantime Chares V, so as to punish Pope Clement VII who had allied himself with the French, sent the lansquenets to Rome in May 1527. In 1530, the dominion of Charles V, who had been crowned by the Pope, was sanctioned with the congress of Bologna. The Spaniards definitively occupied Milan in 1535. After the victory of Saint Quentin in Flanders in 1557, Italy at last reached a measure of stability with the peace of Cateau-Cambrésis of 1559, which sanctioned the Spaniards’ direct control over Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, the Duchy of Milan and the coast of Tuscany.

Giuseppe Bezzuoli, Charles VIII enters Florence, Florence, Palazzo Pitti, Galleria d’Arte Moderna.