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UsefulNotes / Italian Wars

King of France Francis I at the battle of Marignano, 13 September 1515.

The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts, lasting from 1494 to 1559 (with a few peacetime gaps in between) that involved Italian city-states, The Papal States, and most of the major Western European states (including France, the kingdom of Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, England, and Scotland), and even the Ottoman Empire.

All these wars were fought over, as the name would suggest, the Italian peninsula. Originally fought over dynastic conflicts in the Kingdom of Naples, a center of The Renaissance whose eponymous capital was easily the biggest city in Europe along with Antwerp and Paris, the wars quickly became an attempt for all sides involved to increase power and territory, and gave way to many alliances and betrayals. They ended for good with the peace treaties of Cateau-Cambrésis on April 3, 1559, where the last contenders, Spain and France, ended hostilities.

The wars' main consequence was that of Spain emerging as the premier kingdom of Europe at the time at the expense of France. The Spaniards successively assimilated Sicily, Naples, Milan and part of the Tuscan coast — some of which would remain at least dynastically bonded to Spain for entire centuries — and also tied economic and political knots with Genoa, Parma and the Great Duchy of Tuscany (formerly known as Florence). In most cases, Spain actually managed to win politically over these territories, meaning their inhabitants joined more or less voluntarily, helped them defeating the French, and became possibly the most reliable European branch of the Spanish Empire. It would turn into a steady producer of skilled imperial workers, especially engineers, commanders, intellectuals, artists and seamen, and there were soon entire tercios formed by Italian soldiers. This gave Spain practical control of the whole Italy for 200 years, only opposed by the geographically distant Venice and the always fickle Papal States.

Ironically, although by reasons not directly related to the wars, Spain itself was assimilated by a foreign political sphere halfway the timeline of the wars, as their native royal house merged into the Austrian Habsburgs, initially only minor allies to Spain due to their common enmity with France. After the death of their male heir, The Catholic Monarchs' next goal had been to unify the Iberian Peninsula through a dynastic union with Portugal, but a series of deaths in the line of succession handed instead their thrones to their daughter Joanna, and therefore her husband Philip the Handsome, Archduke of the Holy Roman Empire. The subsequent Spanish Habsburg bloodline, kickstarted by Philip's son Charles V, would essentially turn Spain, Italy and their newfound supremacy into a vehicle of their international ambitions, running them to the ground two centuries later before the next French royal house, the Bourbons, replaced the Spanish Habsburg dynasty with a dynasty of their own (during which the Italian territories were lost, although the main ones were reconquered as additional Bourbon kingdoms).

In a way, however, the true victor of the wars might have been the Ottoman Empire all along. Although Europe had never been exactly united since Charlemagne passed away, the Italian Wars had the effect of permanently shatter Christian political unity against Islam even before The Protestant Reformation came along. Spain originally wanted Naples as a natural barrier against Ottoman advance, and France's first claim for it also involved using it as a base to wage war against the Turks, but the resultant conflict had them mostly focused in warring each other rather than the Ottomans. When Charles V later vowed to unify Europe against the Muslim threat, his French counterpart Francis I prefered to wage war against Charles and allying with the Ottomans themselves to even the tables, setting a precedent for future kings of France to do so and permanently making Europe focus inwards militarily rather than outwards. Future tide-changing victories against the Turks would be accomplished by more localized alliances, as in Lepanto and Vienna, or made possible by sheer western technological advantage, as in Cape Gelidonya or the varied bombardments of Algiers.

Speaking of technology, the Italian Wars have also been called the place where medieval warfare was finally buried. The clash between Spain and France started out as a David Versus Goliath affair in favor of the latter, as despite their similar sizes, France enjoyed almost thrice the population of Spain at the time and occupied a dominant political position in Europe after their victory over England in the The Hundred Years War. The odds were evened by Spain having developed a strong military science and an equally keen diplomatic network after centuries of infighting and wars against their Muslim conquerors — they literally Had to Be Sharp. Their victories were facilitated by the growing influence of firearms and artillery, which was ongoing since the Hundred Years War had proved their efficacy, and of which the iconic Spanish general Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, called "The Great Captain", was a big promoter. In a strike of irony, however, an old-fashioned personal duel between Charles and Francis was proposed and accepted in several instances as a way to solve everything, although it never happened.

The wars also had a two-way relationship with the Spanish Conquest of America, which was happening simultaneously. Spanish veterans from the early Italian Wars often crossed the Atlantic and became conquistadors in the search of better fortune, while in turn, loads of native silver and gold collected by Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro reached Spain and helped fund the war efforts. The conflicts also had the effect of increasing the exportations of discoveries and artistic styles of The Renaissance outside of the Italian Peninsula, in France with King Francis I famously inviting Leonardo da Vinci to reside in the country, and in Spain with Charles V doing the same with Gianello della Torre. Francis' alliance with the Ottoman Empire also brought it cultural and trade connections with the Muslim world, creating the first forms of Orientalism in Europe.

Here's a review of the Italian Wars.

  • First Italian War (1494-1495): It started with the death of King Ferdinand I of Naples, who had been excommunicated by Pope Innocent VIII due to money issues, causing a Succession Crisis where King Charles VIII of France tried to seize the throne with Papal support. The French army swept Italy over with the pretext of wanting to turn Naples into the headquarters of a new Crusade against the Ottomans, but the invasion and its brutal treatment of the population turned Pope Alexander VI against him and caused the formation of an alliance of anti-French countries, the League of Venice. Charles fled back to France, and although his army seemed well entrenched, it was eventually defeated by the League, greatly helped by the Great Captain's intervention. King Ferdinand II, a cousin to King Ferdinand of Spain, ascended to the throne of Naples.
  • Second Italian War (1499-1501): Charles VII died before he could return, so his son Louis XII inherited the mantle. Louis' first measure was attacking the Duchy of Milan, whose scheming prince Ludovico Sforza had originally convinced Charles VII to pursue Naples only to turn against him and join the League of Venice. Maneuvering into an alliance with Venice and Pope Alexander and a truce with everybody else, Louis quickly took over Milan and captured Ludovico. Meanwhile, the Pope's son Cesare Borgia did some conquering for himself amongst all the ruckus. Two other members of the old League, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, were uncomfortable and looked like they might take action against France after all, so Louis signed allances with them.
  • Third Italian War or Naples War (1501-1504): This is sometimes considered part of the previous war. Louis XII invited Ferdinand of Spain to take over Naples together, knowing the Spaniard would have no qualms to turn on his own relatives. Louis was right, and together they ousted King Frederick II of Naples (Ferdinand II's nephew) and placed Louis in the throne, but the King of Spain eventually turned on him too due to discussions about the booty, which Niccolò Machiavelli considered a prime example of Evil Is Not a Toy.note  The more numerous French initially pushed the Spanish towards the south of Naples, but some reinforcements from Spain and the Holy Roman Empire turned the tide, and the Great Captain ultimately smashed the French into capitulation after victories in Cerignola and the Garigliano river. As a consequence, Spain assimilated Naples as a viceroyalty.
  • War of the League of Cambrai (1508-1516): Annoyed with Venice due to a quarrel over lands, the new Pope Julius II assembled the eponymous League of Cambrai with France, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, crushing the Venetians into submission.note  Then, worried about France's growing presence in Italy, Julius assembled a Holy League with Venice, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and England in order to expel the French. As King Ferdinand had incidentally alienated his two best generals, the Great Captain and Prospero Colonna, into not participating,note  France had now the best general around, Gaston of Foix, who readily destroyed the Spanish army at Ravenna — only to get himself killed in the battle and take with him the entire French effort. Venice switched sides while the Holy League argued over their subsequent gains, but it didn't prevent the League from scoring multiple wins. The situation changed radically with the deaths of Louis XII and Ferdinand, who were succeeded respectively by Francis I and Charles I. France crushed and captured Milan but made peace with Spain to be sure, and the rest of participants followed through.
  • Four Years' War (1521-1526): The death of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I vacated his throne, which Francis I of France, Charles I of Spain, and Henry VIII of England all wanted. Eventually Charles, the strongest candidate, took the prize, becoming Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire, which angered Francis to no end. The King of France went to war against Charles and Henry, but a series of defeats in Bicocca, Genoa and the Sesia caused a French meltdown, worsened by his best general, the Duke of Bourbon, defecting due to infighting.note  Francis attempted to recover by an alliance with King Sigismund I of Poland, who had turned iffy with the Habsburgs due to their talks with the Great Duchy of Moscow, but it fell through when Francis was destroyed and captured in Pavia. Charles forced him to sign an unfavourable treaty in exchange for his freedom — which of course Francis broke as soon as he was free.note  While Francis was imprisoned, his mother Louise of Savoy exchanged letters with the Ottoman Empire led by Suleiman the Magnificent, leading to a shocking alliance between Suleiman and Francis.
  • War of the League of Cognac (1526-1530): Worried about Charles V's growing power, Pope Clement VII assembled the League of Cognac with France, England and more of less everybody else. Charles answered by sending the Duke of Bourbon to besiege Rome, although Bourbon died untimely of illness, and his army (which included many Protestant Landsknechte mercenaries) mutinied and ended up sacking the city, while the Pope barely managing to escape.note  With popular opinion turning against Charles, the League seemed to get their revenge by sea, helped by the great admiral and Genoese leader Andrea Doria, but Doria deserted to Charles shortly after and brought down the League's efforts.note  Meanwhile, the Ottomans advanced on Charles from the back and besieged Vienna, although they had to retreat (Charles would also seek his own Muslim allies in Safavid Persia in an attempt to counter them). Finally, with the French army defeated in Landriano, Francis sued for peace, which was signed by Louise and Charles' aunt Margaret of Austria, and with that the League disintegrated.
  • Italian War of 1536–1538 (from this point, the Italian Wars have no name). When Charles' son Philip inherited the Duchy of Milan after the death of previous ruler Francesco Sforza, Francis disagreed and declared war with the help of Suleiman. Although the war was bitter and bloody, it was also uneventful. Spain defended Milan yet failed to invade France in turn, and similarly, the Franco-Ottoman armada under admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa tried to capture Genoa only to be stopped by defenses built by Doria in a Crazy-Prepared prevision. The subsequent peace treaty, in which Charles and Francis infamously refused to sit in the same room and forced Pope Paul III to go from one to another, returned things to its previous state (again), leaving Milan in Spanish hands, although allowing France to reap the city of Turin.
  • Italian War of 1542-1546: Charles had attempted to patch things up again by marrying off his daughter to Francis' son, but to no avail, so Francis and Suleiman (joined by King Christian III of Denmark) returned for another round against Charles, who was again helped by Henry. With the Franco-Ottoman armada pressing things,note  the French achieved a notably land victory in Ceresole, but an invasion of France by Charles and Henry prevented them from following through. In turn, the Spanish captured the French Atlantic fleet in Muros Bay, after which the Anglo-Imperials almost reached Paris, but sheer miscoordination prevented them from advancing further. Eventually, both Francis and Charles saw themselves weary and signed a peace treaty, forcing to the King of France to break his alliance with the Ottomans, although the death of the French prince, who was supposed to marry a relative of Charles, ensured this would not last (Francis later teased helping a German rebellion against Charles). Henry VIII continued waging war on France and it took a mighty effort to sign total peace.
  • Italian War of 1551–1559: Francis was succeeded by his son Henry II, who promptly returned to war. He had, oddly enough, support from Sultan Suleiman and Pope Paul IV at the same time, strengthened by a German Protestant faction who shockingly turned on Charles and almost captured him in his castle in Innsbruck. After failing to personally rallying back things in Metz and Renty, and with the Mediterranean theater going also badly for him, Charles realized he was too old and burnt for this crap and abdicated in his own son Philip II, who was was also King of England in marriage to Mary Tudor. This allowed the Imperials to bounce back, with their new general The Duke of Alba arresting the Papal States while Philip and his various allies got huge victories in St. Quentin and Gravelines. Negotiations started, and an increasingly troubled Henry II eventually accepted a peace treaty restoring status quo, respecting the Habsburg possessions and marrying off his daughter Elisabet to Philip. This put an end to the Italian Wars — amped up by Henry dying in a jousting accident mere days after.

Depictions in fiction

Film — Live-Action

  • The Pagans (1953), about the Sack of Rome in 1527.
  • Soldier of Fortune (Il soldato di ventura, 1976) is a comedy that follows the adventures of condottiero Ettore Fieramosca (played by Bud Spencer), who is given the task of leading a mob of bungling warriors against the French army
  • Flesh+Blood follows two warring groups of mercenaries and their longstanding quarrel in Italy in 1501.

Live-Action Television

  • A small part of it is portrayed in some episodes of The Borgias.

Video Games

  • The Forgotten expansion to Age of Empires II features the Italians, which have the Condottieri as one of their unique units. To signify their status as mercenaries, the Italian team bonus makes Condottieri available to all players who are allied with them.
  • Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is set during the early Italian Wars (from 1499 to 1503), namely at the time of the War over Naples and Cesare Borgia's conquests in Emilia-Romagna and Marche. The antagonists of the game are Cesare Borgia's Papal forces and the French army sent to buttress him. Note, however, that multiple historical issues are present. For example, Cesare Borgia (Pope Alexander VI's son) is portrayed as a mildly psychotic incestuous bastard, whereas actual history is slightly more sympathetic.
  • One of the starting scenarios available for Europa Universalis is the War of the League of Cambrai.
  • Can happen in Medieval II: Total War though the game mechanics make it unlikely it will be half as enduring or powerful. In addition, several mods are set to showcase it. In addition, the vanilla "Historical" Scenario battle of Pavia is based on the Imperial Curb Stomp of that name, though any relations to history are rather strained.
  • The first campaign of Rise of Legends is probably the closest you'll get to a tactical game of this, or at least the Italian-on-Italian side of it. If you look past the Steampunk and Clock Punk, the first campaign basically puts you in the role of Fantasy Milan fighting against Fantasy Venice, and wheeling/dealing/killing your way through the other city states in order to take down your enemy.