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(289)

033 – Here come the Normans, there goes the neighbourhood

033 – Here come the Normans, there goes the neighbourhood

We take a look at the arrival of the Normans in Southern Italy at the start of the XI century and follow their participation in the anti-Byzantines rebellions of the 1040's.

28 Okt 201819min

032 – Saxons to Salians and a fake news legend

032 – Saxons to Salians and a fake news legend

1024 - 1037 We look at the passage from Henry II to Conrad and look at the trouble caused for the new emperor by Bishop Aribert of Milan while he tries to consolidate his hold on Italy with the help of Bonifacio of Canossa and the new pope.

18 Okt 201821min

031 – A rebellion in the south, a lion in the north and how Henry II got on

031 – A rebellion in the south, a lion in the north and how Henry II got on

1009 - 1024 We take a look at a forgotten rebellion in the south of Italy headed by an apple tree, check in with the Canossa family to observe their growing power in the north and then see how Holy Roman emperor Henry II got on when he made his way across the Alps.

10 Okt 201821min

Special: The massacre of Monte Sole

Special: The massacre of Monte Sole

Between the 29th September and 5th October 1944, the Nazi occupiers of Italy, along with their Fascist allies, rounded up and killed almost 800 civilians, mostly elderly, women and children in the worst single episode of violence against the civilian population in Western Europe. The massacre occurred on the slopes of Monte Sole, south of Bologna.

30 Sep 201819min

030 – Saxons, Saracens, Sardinia

030 – Saxons, Saracens, Sardinia

We leave Henry II waiting for a moment to look at the increasing Saracen raids in the early 11th century before taking a look at the unique history of the Sardinian "Giudicati".

26 Sep 201820min

029 –  New millennium, nationalist myths, same old mess

029 – New millennium, nationalist myths, same old mess

1002 - 1013 As a new millennium dawns on the Italian pensala, we see that nothing much has changed, at least for the moment, as we see Henry II of Bavaria attempting to take power in Italy and then become emperor.

16 Sep 201817min

Special: 8th September 1943, from infamy to resistance

Special: 8th September 1943, from infamy to resistance

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the armistice between the Italian government and the allied forces we look at the fateful day the armistice was announced and the consequences for the Italian forces and people.

10 Sep 201818min

028 – The year 1000 and life for the average Giuseppe

028 – The year 1000 and life for the average Giuseppe

After our recap episode, we take a look at the attitudes towards the year 1000 and have a look at what daily life was like for people around that year.

3 Sep 201817min

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