195 - Italian Wars 12 -  The sack of Rome (again) and the end of the Sforza (1526 - 1530)

195 - Italian Wars 12 - The sack of Rome (again) and the end of the Sforza (1526 - 1530)

In this episode, we pick up with Emperor Charles V consolidating his power over Italy after the Battle of Pavia (1525), where the French king Francis I was captured. The uneasy Italian states, including Pope Clement VII (Giulio de’ Medici), soon realized they had traded one master for another and formed the League of Cognac (1526) — an anti-imperial alliance including France, Venice, Florence, the Papal States, Milan, and under English protection, Henry VIII.

The league’s formation was steeped in intrigue, false pretenses, and even secret dealings with the Turks. One of Charles’s own commanders, the Marquis of Pescara, pretended to side with the league while feeding the emperor inside information.

Meanwhile, Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, the famed mercenary from the Medici-Sforza line, met his end in battle, struck by artillery supplied by the duplicitous Duke of Ferrara. His death marked the fading of Italy’s old mercenary tradition — and one of its most charismatic figures.

When the pope attempted to back away from the alliance, Charles’s allies struck at Rome. The Sack of Rome (1527)followed — a devastating episode where mutinous Landsknechts, many of them fervent Lutherans, unleashed horrific violence on the city. For days, the Eternal City was ravaged: thousands slaughtered, churches desecrated, art looted, and the Renaissance dream in Rome brutally extinguished. Pope Clement VII barely escaped to Castel Sant’Angelo, thanks to the sacrifice of his Swiss Guards.

In the chaos that followed, the Papal States collapsed, local lords reclaimed their territories, and the Medici were expelled from Florence, where a new republic was declared — with Jesus Christ symbolically named as its king.

Ultimately, Charles V and Clement VII reconciled. Political realism won out over ideology. Through the Treaties of Barcelona (1529) and Bologna (1530), the Italian Wars entered a quieter phase, and imperial dominance over Italy was secured.

We close with the final chapter of the Sforza dynasty: Francesco II Sforza, the last Duke of Milan, whose death in 1535marked the end of an era — from the rise of the free communes to the age of dynastic rule and foreign domination.

Episoder(290)

093 – A change of scenery for the papacy and an anachronistic emperor

093 – A change of scenery for the papacy and an anachronistic emperor

The papacy, under Clement V heads off for its long exile to Avignone and then Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII tries to move back the clock on the Italian scene.

18 Jul 202024min

092 – Boniface VIII peaks and crashes

092 – Boniface VIII peaks and crashes

1298- 1303 Boniface VIII crushes the internal opposition of the Colonna, organises the first Jubilee, dabble in Italian politics including Florence and then clashes once again with Philipp IV of France, which seals his fate.

26 Jun 202023min

091 – Boniface VIII on the scene

091 – Boniface VIII on the scene

1295 - 1297 We go back to the abdication of pope Celestine V in 1295 and see the rise to power of one of the most controverstial popes in history, Boniface VIII in this first of two episodes on the man and his time.

21 Jun 202020min

090 – Twilight of the Sardinian Judicates

090 – Twilight of the Sardinian Judicates

Before finally getting on to the 14th century, we see how the end of the 13th marked the beginning of the end of the Sardinian Judicates, before of course going back to look at what they actually were.

12 Jun 202025min

089 – The "cannibal" count – an example of late 13th century Italian politics

089 – The "cannibal" count – an example of late 13th century Italian politics

the politics of late 13th century Pisa as an example of the general situation in the communes as well as touching on Sardinia.

4 Jun 202022min

088 – Twilight of the communes

088 – Twilight of the communes

Before saying goodbye to the 13th century, we take a quick tour of the peninsula to tie up some loose ends, such as the maritime, republics, Piedmont and the situation with the communes.

16 Mai 202019min

087 – Marco Polo part 2

087 – Marco Polo part 2

Marco Polo finally leaves on his great voyage which will take him to the ends of the known earth to meet a whole series of different cultures to then come back to Venice and live though one of the republic's most dangerous moments

8 Mai 202021min

086 – Marco Polo part 1

086 – Marco Polo part 1

In this first episode on the 13th century explorer Marco Polo we look at some background on Venice at his time and his family as well as introducing the figure of the Great Khan Kublai.

30 Apr 202019min

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