Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Foreign Rule
As a relation of the Angevins, Charles VIII had a weak claim to the throne of Naples,
which he was encouraged to revive by Ludovico Sforza who wanted to rid himself of the
Neapolitan threat, Alfonso II. And so, in 1494, the French king marched down the penin-
sula unopposed and occupied Naples in February 1495.
After an enthusiastic welcome, Charles made himself popular slashing taxes and throw-
ing banquets, but he was far too venal for his popularity to last. As the French army
sickened from syphilis he found himself opposed by a Holy League that included Venice,
Mantua, Florence, the Pope and Ludovico who, perturbed by the garrisoning of Charles'
cousin and would-be claimant to the Milanese duchy, Louis of Orléans, at Asti, had
switched sides.
Making a run for the north, troops of the Holy League, lead by Francesco II Gonzaga,
caught up with Charles at Fornovo. Despite being outnumbered three to one and with their
artillery rendered useless by the rain, the French were brutally exposed. But instead of in-
flicting a crushing defeat, the Italian troops broke rank and made straight for the booty-
laden French wagons. Since the French continued retreating after the battle, Francesco
claimed a dubious victory and even had Mantegna paint the
Madonna della Vittoria
(The
Madonna of Victory) in commemoration.
Milanese journalist and politician Luigi Barzini (1908-84) considered the Battle of
Fornovo a crucial event in Italian history. If the Italians had won, he theorised, 'Nobody
would have ventured lightly across the Alps, for fear of being destroyed'. Instead, Charles'
uncontested march on Naples showed how easy a conquest Italy was. It encouraged
Charles' cousin, and the next king of France, Louis of Orléans, to emulate him in 1499 -
leading an invasion which led to the overthrow and capture of Ludovico Sforza.
As the struggle for supremacy in western Europe escalated between the French and
Spanish in the 16th century, the French invasions of Italy brought Spain into the northern
half of the country. Lying directly between Naples, which Emperor Charles V inherited
from his Spanish mother, and Germany, which he claimed through his Habsburg grandfath-
er, Lombardy was the inevitable battleground. Following the death of the last Sforza duke
in 1535, Charles took control of the duchy of Milan and gave it to his son Philip II
(1527-98), the future Spanish king. Thus the political and cultural independence of Milan
was extinguished forever.
