THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
1501 Cesare Borgia begins his conquest of the petty states of Romagna. He takes Pesaro, Rimini, Forlì, and Faenza.
1502 Cesare seizes the duchy of Urbino with the aid of Louis. He wars with the Orsini and plans to capture Pisa, and marries his sister Lucrezia to the son of the duke of Ferrara. The Florentines create the office of gonfalonier for life.
1503 At death of Pope Alexander VI the dominions of Cesare are taken from him by Julius II. Venice seizes Faenza and Rimini, which enrages the pope. The Venetians make peace with the Turks, renouncing their possessions in the Peloponnesus. Death of Piero de’ Medici with the French army in Naples. Pietro Soderini chosen gonfalonier of Florence.
1504 Louis signs treaty of Blois with Maximilian, in which they propose to divide the republic of Venice between them. Florence makes another attempt to take Pisa.
1506 Julius II attacks Perugia and Bologna.
1507 Unable to endure the yoke of the French and their own nobles, the Genoese drive out the French and restore the republic. Louis at once captures Genoa and puts the doge and other prominent citizens to death.
1508 Unsuccessful invasion of Italy by Maximilian. The Venetians defeat him and he is compelled to make truce, yielding them Trieste. The infamous League of Cambray formed by the pope, the emperor, Spain, and France against Venice. Savoy, Mantua, and Ferrara also join.
1509 France declares war on Venice. The Venetians, badly defeated at Agnadello, give up their possessions in northern Italy. The Venetians regain Padua. The Florentines capture Pisa.
1510 Julius begins to fear his foreign allies and resolves to drive the barbarians from Italy with the aid of the Swiss. He absolves the Venetians and pits the Spanish against the French. The French are attacked in Genoa, Modena, and Verona.
1511 Julius captures Mirandola; the French take Bologna from him. Julius forms the holy league with the Spaniards, English, Swiss, and Venetians against France.
1512 Gaston de Foix relieves the French, besieged in Bologna by the Spaniards; retakes Brescia, and fights a great battle at Ravenna with the pope and his allies, in which he is killed. Maximilian abandons the French. The Swiss occupy Milan and restore Massimiliano Sforza, son of Lodovico. The pope regains Bologna and Ferrara, and seizes Parma and Piacenza from the Milanese. The Medici return to Florence and resume their former position. Genoa expels the French. Italy passes from the yoke of France to that of the Swiss, Spaniards, and Germans.
1513 Giovanni de’ Medici becomes Pope Leo X. Alliance between the Venetians and the French. The latter enter the duchy of Milan, but are defeated by the Swiss mercenaries at Novara. The Spaniards attack Venice on behalf of Maximilian, and occupy Verona, Padua, and Vicenza, acting with great cruelty.
1514 The French are driven out of their last fortresses in Italy.
1515 Francis I, the new French king, asserts his claim to Milan, recovers Genoa, and badly defeats the Swiss at Marignano. He enters Milan, and the Swiss leave Italy forever, after making peace with Francis. Massimiliano Sforza abdicates. Venice captures Bergamo and Peschiera. Peace between Francis and Leo. The latter gives up Parma and Piacenza.
1516 The Venetians capture Brescia and lay siege to Verona. Treaty of Noyon between Francis and Charles I of Spain. Maximilian agrees to it. By its terms Venice recovers all the territory taken from her by the League of Cambray.
1517 Verona restored to Venice. France and Venice renew their alliance. Leo turns the duke of Urbino out of his duchy and gives it to Lorenzo de’ Medici.
1518 Treaty of peace signed between Maximilian and Venice.
1519 Death of Lorenzo. The pope annexes Urbino to his states and attempts to seize Ferrara. Charles V succeeds to the imperial title.
1521 Leo makes treaty with Charles to drive the French from Italy. The allies enter Milan; the Sforza are restored. Death of Leo stops attempts on Ferrara.
1522 The French, defeated, evacuate Lombardy, but retain Genoa, which is pillaged by the Spaniards.
1524 The French attempt to recover Lombardy. Francis besieges Pavia.
1525 Battle of Pavia. Defeat and capture of Francis. The way for Spanish dominion is opened in Italy. The marquis of Pescara betrays the Sforza party into the hands of the emperor.
1526 Francis, liberated, treats with the pope, the Venetians, and Francesco Sforza, to deliver Italy from the Spaniards. Surrender of Sforza and Milan to the Spaniards. The constable De Bourbon leads the imperial forces to Rome.
1527 Capture and sack of Rome by the Spaniards. The pope a prisoner, escapes to Orvieto. The Florentines restore their republican government and drive Alessandro de’ Medici from the city. A French army under Lautrec enters Lombardy, conquers Pavia, Genoa, and many other cities. The duke of Ferrara seizes Modena, and the Venetians Ravenna.
1528 Andrea Doria drives the French from Genoa, and re-establishes the republic.
1529 Treaty of Barcelona between Charles and the pope, restoring the Medici to Florence. Peace of Cambray between Francis and Charles, in which France relinquishes all claims on Italy to Spain. Francesco Sforza and the duke of Ferrara submit to Charles. Venice gives up Ravenna and Cervia to the pope. The republics of Lucca, Genoa, and Siena make themselves dependent on Charles. The marquis of Montferrat and the duke of Savoy join the Spanish party and the former is made duke.
1530 Charles crowned king of Italy and emperor at Bologna. Fall of Florence before the imperial army, after a brave defence by Francesco Ferrucci. End of the republic. Charles decides the papal claims on Ferrara in favour of Alfonso d’Este.
1531 Return of Alessandro de’ Medici to Florence with title of duke of Cività di Penne, obtained from the emperor. The pope relinquishes Modena to Alfonso and makes him duke of Ferrara.
1535 On death of Francesco Sforza, Charles takes possession of the duchy of Milan and makes his son Philip governor. For this act France again attempts to gain a foothold in Italy and sends an army into Savoy.
1536 Capture of Turin by the French. Sack and burning of Nice. Montferrat is given to the duke of Mantua.
1537 Assassination of Alessandro de’ Medici. Cosmo of the younger branch is made duke.
1538 League of Genoa and Venice against the Turks. Andrea Doria breaks the alliance and is defeated by the Algerine corsair Barbarossa.
1540 Peace between Venice and the Turks; all the former’s possessions in the Morea are given up. Paul III forms the Society of Jesus.
1545 Pope Paul III makes Parma and Piacenza into a duchy for his son Pier Luigi Farnese.
1546 Cosmo thwarts the plot of Francesco Burlamacchi of Lucca to restore the liberty of the Tuscan republics. Burlamacchi executed at Milan.
1547 Gian Luigi de’ Fieschi, with the aid of the French, forms a conspiracy to throw off the yoke of the Spaniards and Andrea Doria. Genoa is seized, but Fieschi is drowned and the Doria remain in control. The duke of Parma is assassinated. The imperial troops seize Piacenza; the pope seizes Parma.
1552 Pope Julius III gives Parma back to Pier Luigi’s son, Ottavio. The Sienese drive out the Spanish garrison and admit a French one.
1553 The French, aided by the Turks, capture a portion of Corsica from the Genoese, most of which Andrea Doria recovers the following year.
1554 Cosmo de’ Medici makes a sudden attack on Siena. The marquis of Marignano undertakes to reduce the city.
1555 Surrender of Siena after a siege of fifteen months. The Spaniards take possession. Pope Paul IV induces Henry II of France to break his treaty of peace with Spain. The duke of Alva invades the papal states. The duke of Guise and the pope oppose him.
1557 The duke of Alva forces the French to retreat. The pope makes peace with the Spaniards. Philip gives Cosmo full sovereignty over Siena.
1559 The French-Spanish war terminated by the peace of Cateau-Cambrésis. It leaves the king of Spain undisputed lord of Italy. Savoy and Piedmont (except a few towns) are restored to Emmanuel Philibert. The only remaining republics are Venice, Genoa, Lucca, and San Marino. Venice alone is of any importance.
1562 Turin and four other towns are restored by the French to Emmanuel Philibert. He transfers his capital to Turin, and his house becomes thoroughly Italian.
1569 Pope Pius V makes Cosmo de’ Medici grand duke of Tuscany. The emperor protests.
1570 The Turks take Cyprus from the Venetians.
1571 The combined fleets of Venice, Spain, the pope, and the knights of Malta, defeat the Turks in the Gulf of Lepanto. This victory delivers Italy from the infidel, but the allies do not follow it up.
1573 Venice is forced to make peace with the Turks. She gives up Cyprus and pays a large tribute.
1575 The emperor acknowledges the title of grand duke of Tuscany.
1576 Great devastation made by the plague in Italy.
1578 Failure of a conspiracy at Florence against the grand duke of Tuscany.
1580 Charles Emmanuel succeeds his father as duke of Savoy.
1582 Charles Emmanuel fails in an attempt to capture Genoa.
1586 Death of Ottavio Farnese, duke of Parma. His son Alessandro succeeds.
1588 The duke of Savoy taking advantage of Francis’ distracted condition, conquers Saluzzo.
1589 The duke of Savoy invades Provence.
1590 The French drive Charles Emmanuel from Provence.
1597 Death of Alfonso d’Este, duke of Ferrara. Pope Clement VIII claims his dominions (Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio) from his kinsman and heir, Cesare d’Este. France sides with the pope, and Spain with the duke.
1598 Cesare gives up Ferrara to the pope and retires to Modena and Reggio, where he rules as duke.
1600 Henry IV of France proceeds against the duke of Savoy.
THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
1601 Peace of Lyons between Henry IV and Charles Emmanuel. The latter is allowed to keep Saluzzo, but gives up Bresse, Bugey, and the Pays de Gex, his possessions in Burgundy.
1606 Pope Paul V attempts to compel Venice to acknowledge his ecclesiastical supremacy. Hitherto the Venetians have recognised no chief above their own patriarch. They prepare for war with the pope. Henry IV mediates. The Venetians in a veiled manner admit the papal supremacy, but refuse to readmit the Jesuits, and the pope removes the interdiction.
1613 On the death of Francesco, the duke of Mantua and Montferrat, his brother Ferdinand succeeds. Charles Emmanuel invades Montferrat on behalf of his daughter, the late duke’s widow. Philip III of Spain orders him to evacuate the duchy and the duke of Savoy goes to war with Spain.
1615 The Spanish governor of Milan attacks Charles Emmanuel. Venice and the imperial party come to hostilities over the piracies of the Uscochi, subjects of the empire.
1617 Venice makes alliance with the Dutch.
1618 Conspiracy of Don Pedro de Toledo, governor of Milan, the duke of Osuna, and the marquis of Bedmar to destroy Venice. It is betrayed to the Council of Ten and thwarted.
1620 The Catholics in the Grisons revolt against the Protestant government. Philip III sends the governor of Milan to help the Catholics. He occupies the Valtelline.
1624 France, Savoy, and Venice unite against Spain in the war in the Grisons.
1625 The duke of Savoy and a French army make an attempt to capture Genoa. The Germans and Spaniards invade Savoy and the duke is obliged to abandon the siege.
1626 On the death of the last of the Della Rovere family the duchy of Urbino is annexed to the papal states.
1627 On the death of the duke of Mantua, Charles Emmanuel again seizes Montferrat.
1628 France and Venice oppose the duke of Savoy. Spain and Austria assist him. The Spaniards seize Casale. Plot of Vachero and others in Genoa to place the city under the protection of Charles Emmanuel. It is discovered and its leader executed.
1629 Treaty of Susa between France and Savoy. Spain and the emperor refuse to ratify it.
1630 Death of Charles Emmanuel, succeeded by his son Victor Amadeus I. The imperial army seizes Mantua.
1631 The Montferrat question settled by the treaty of Cherasco. Mantua and Montferrat are given to Charles, duke of Nevers. Savoy gets a small portion of Montferrat and Pinerolo is ceded to France.
1637 On death of Victor Amadeus a contest over the regency for his young son, Charles Emmanuel II, begins.
1639 Capture of Turin by Prince Thomas of Savoy in the contest for the regency.
1642 The duke’s mother Christina obtains the regency of Savoy under the protection of France. This leads to the implication of Italy in the wars of Louis XIII with Germany and Spain. Civil war breaks out in Italy. The ducal families take the side of Spain.
1645 War breaks out between Venice and the Turks. The latter seize a portion of Candia.
1651 The Venetians win a great naval victory from the Turks near Scio.
1655 The Spaniards besiege Reggio without success. Prince Thomas of Savoy and the duke of Modena with a French army fail in an attempt to capture Pavia. Naval victory of the Venetians over the Turks in the Dardanelles.
1656 Continued naval victories of the Venetians; they hire mercenaries from the pope, and admit the Jesuits into their city.
1659 The wars of Louis XIV and Spain ended by the treaty of the Pyrenees. France retains possession of Pinerolo.
1669 After a long siege the Turks take Candia from the Venetians. Crete is lost.
1670 After a long reign Ferdinand II, grand duke of Tuscany, dies, succeeded by his son Cosmo III.
1675 Death of Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy. Victor Amadeus II succeeds.
1684 The French fleet bombards Genoa, whose citizens have refused to allow Louis XIV to establish a depot at Savona. Venice, encouraged by Sobieski’s victories over the Turks, leagues with the emperor and the Poles against them.
1685 The doge of Genoa and four senators go to Paris to apologise and make terms with Louis XIV. The Venetians under Francesco Morosini take many towns in the Morea from the Turks.
1686 The duke of Savoy forbids all religions but the Catholic to exist in Savoy.
1687 The Venetians complete the conquest of the Morea. They seize Lepanto, Corinth, and Athens.
1690 Toleration of the Protestants is restored in Savoy, which joins the league against France. The French take Saluzzo and other territory from Savoy.
1691 The progress of the French in Savoy is stopped by a German army. Continued success of the Venetians in Greece.
1694 Siege of Casale by the duke of Savoy.
1695 The war with the Turks begins to turn against the Venetians.
1696 The duke of Savoy makes peace with France, which gives up Pinerolo to him.
1699 Treaty of Karlowitz between Venice and the Turks. The former is confirmed in her conquests in Greece.
THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
1701 The war of the Spanish Succession is begun in Italy. Tuscany and Mantua side with the French. Prince Eugene of Savoy defeats the French army.
1702 Prince Eugene captures Cremona and besieges Mantua. The duke of Vendôme drives him off. Victory of the French and Spaniards at Santa Vittoria.
1704 The duke of Savoy goes over to the Austrian side. The French are supreme in Savoy and Modena.
1706 Battle of Turin and great defeat of the French, who lose all their conquests in Italy. The duke of Savoy recovers his possessions and obtains Montferrat. Charles III is proclaimed king of Spain.
1708 The emperor Joseph I claims the duchy of Mantua on the death of the last duke. The pope attempts to resist, but is overcome and submits to Joseph’s claim.
1713 The Peace of Utrecht. For his services in the war of the Spanish Succession, Victor Amadeus II receives Sicily with the title of king and is crowned at Palermo. The emperor Charles receives Milan, Mantua, Sardinia, and Naples. Italy passes from the power of Spain to that of Austria.
1714 The pope lays claim to Sicily and issues a bull against Victor Amadeus, who ignores it. Philip V marries Elizabeth Farnese, which makes him heir to Parma and Piacenza, and a claimant of Tuscany.
1715 The Turks go to war with the Venetians and reconquer the Morea.
1716 The emperor assists the Venetians. Prince Eugene captures Temesvar. The combined fleet captures Santa Maura.
1717 In the dispute with Austria over the succession to the grand duchy of Tuscany, Philip V of Spain unexpectedly conquers Sardinia. The allied armies make headway against the Turks.
1718 The Quadruple Alliance—Great Britain, France, Austria, and the Netherlands—formed against Philip, to take Lombardy from him. War with the Turks ended by the Peace of Passarowitz. Venice gives up the struggle against the infidels after five hundred years. She is now in full decline and takes no part in the eighteenth-century wars. The Spaniards invade Sicily.
1719 The Spaniards defeated and driven off from Messina. They leave the island.
1720 Philip agrees to the terms of the Quadruple Alliance. For his adherence to Philip, Victor Amadeus is compelled to exchange Sicily for Sardinia, and his realm is henceforth called the kingdom of Sardinia. Sicily is reunited to Naples.
1723 Gian Gastone succeeds to the grand duchy of Tuscany.
1730 Victor Amadeus abdicates in favour of his son, Charles Emmanuel III. The Corsicans revolt against the Genoese to rid themselves of tyranny.
1731 Death of the last duke of Parma. Don Charles of Spain succeeds. Victor Amadeus attempts to regain his crown, but is defeated by Charles Emmanuel and imprisoned in the castle of Rimini, where he dies in 1732. Charles Emmanuel destroys all temporal power of the pope in his realm.
1733 The war of the Polish Succession begins. France makes alliance with Spain and Sardinia. They plan to drive the Austrians from Italy; to establish Don Charles on the throne of the Two Sicilies and in the duchies; and to give Milan to Charles Emmanuel. The latter seizes Milan.
1734 Victory of Charles Emmanuel at Guastalla.
1735 Don Charles goes to Sicily and is crowned king.
1737 Death of Gian Gastone, grand duke of Tuscany, the last of the Medici.
1738 The Treaty of Vienna settles the disputes of the war of the Polish Succession. Duke Francis of Lorraine receives Tuscany. Parma and Piacenza are given to Austria, which keeps Milan and Mantua. Don Charles acknowledged king of the Two Sicilies. Charles Emmanuel acquires Novara, and Tortona is separated from Milan.
1740 War of the Austrian Succession begins. The Bourbon houses of Spain, France, and the Sicilies oppose the Habsburg-Lorraine party in the succession of Maria Theresa.
1741 Charles Emmanuel joins the Habsburg cause.
1742 The king of Sardinia attacks Reggio and Modena. The Spanish army invades Savoy, but is driven back.
1743 The Sardinians defeated by the French and Spaniards, who seize Parma and Milan. Francis of Lorraine, elected emperor, sends an Austrian army against them.
1745 Defeat of the French and Spaniards by the king of Sardinia and the Austrians at Piacenza. The Genoese compelled to admit the Austrians into the city, but they afterwards expel them.
1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the war, and redivides Italy. Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla are made into a duchy for Don Philip, brother of Charles III of the Two Sicilies. The Austrians keep Milan and Tuscany. Venice, Lucca, and San Marino remain free, so does Genoa, but, with the duchy of Modena, it is placed under the protection of France. Until the French Revolution Italy ceases to be a matter of dispute between the European nations.
1755 Pasquale Paoli takes command of the Corsicans in their continued struggle to free themselves from Genoa. He plans to establish a republic in the island.
1765 Death of the emperor Francis. Tuscany, which, since his assumption of the emperorship, has been practically an Austrian province, is given to his son Leopold and becomes a separate state once more.
1768 Genoa, wearied of the struggle with Corsica, cedes it to France.
1773 Death of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, succeeded by his son, Victor Amadeus III.
1790 Leopold, succeeding to the empire, makes his son, Ferdinand III, grand duke of Tuscany.
1792 The French army captures Savoy and Nice and makes them part of the republic.
1793 Victor Amadeus joins the alliance against France.
1796 The French army under Napoleon Bonaparte crosses the Alps. Victor Amadeus surrenders his claim to Savoy and Nice, and gives up Alessandria and Tortona after Bonaparte’s many victories. The French invade the Austrian dominions and enter Milan. Bonaparte enters Bologna and founds the Cispadane Republic, with Bologna as capital. Death of Victor Amadeus, succeeded by his son, Charles Emmanuel IV. Defeat of the Austrians at Arcola.
1797 Defeat of the Austrians at Rivoli completes conquest of Lombardy. Mantua surrenders to Bonaparte. He declares war on Venice and enters the city. Revolt against the republican party in Genoa; Bonaparte interferes and establishes the Ligurian Republic. He forms Lombardy, Parma, Modena, the papal state of Bologna, Ferrara, Romagna, and part of Venice into the Cisalpine Republic, with capital at Milan. Treaty of Campo-Formio recognises the new republics and gives the remainder of Venice to Austria.
1798 The French army enters Rome and forms the Tiberine Republic. Pope Pius VI sent a captive to France. The French take Piedmont and Charles Emmanuel retires to Sardinia.
1799 The French garrison gives up Rome to the English. The French directory declares war against Austria and Tuscany. The allies under Kay and Suvarroff defeat the French many times in northern Italy. Milan is taken. The Austrians take Ancona and Coni.
1800 Bonaparte recovers his lost possessions in Italy. Battle of Marengo. Genoa and Tuscany given up to Bonaparte.