1412 when the succession is decided in favour of Ferdinand (I) the Just, regent of Castile.
1416 Death of Ferdinand, succeeded by his son Alfonso (I) the Magnanimous. He is a man of cultivated tastes and great liberality.
1432 Alfonso arrives in Sicily with a fleet to force his claim to the succession of Naples. In 1420 Queen Joanna made him her heir, but in 1423 annulled the adoption.
1435 On death of Joanna, Alfonso besieges Gaeta. Naval battle of Ponza. Alfonso and his brother captured by the Genoese allies of René. They are sent as prisoners to Milan, where Alfonso pleads his cause so successfully that Filippo Maria Visconti, who fears the French influence, withdraws his support from René, releases Alfonso and recognises him as the successor to Joanna. Surrender of Gaeta to Alfonso’s brother Don Pedro.
SECOND UNION (1435-1458 A.D.)
1436 Alfonso is proclaimed king at Gaeta and other places.
1438 René is released by the duke of Burgundy and arrives at Naples to prosecute his claim.
1440 Alfonso, having taken Aversa, lays siege to Naples.
1442 Surrender of Naples to Alfonso. He is now acknowledged by the whole kingdom. René returns to Provence.
1443 Alfonso acknowledged by Pope Felix V. He attempts to wrest the March of Ancona for the pope from Francesco Sforza, and involves himself in a war with the Italian states. Florence and Venice side with Sforza.