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)

018 – A clear-up on kingdoms and back up the boot in the ninth century

018 – A clear-up on kingdoms and back up the boot in the ninth century

We first cleat up the concept of the "Kingdom of Italy" and then make our way back up from the Arab Emirate of Sicily to look at the Principality of Benevento, the Duchy of Naples and the Duchy of Spoleto in the ninth century as the Carolingians do their thing up north.

24 Mai 201820min

017 – Some silly Syracusans, some Saracens and Sicily, plus pirates

017 – Some silly Syracusans, some Saracens and Sicily, plus pirates

827-840 We leave the north for a while and take a look at Sicily. First we have a quick peak at the start of the Arab raids on the island in the early seventh century and then head back to the ninth when Sicily became an Arab Emirate.

17 Mai 201816min

016 – Italy after Charlemagne

016 – Italy after Charlemagne

800 - 840 We look at what happened up to and after the death of Charlemagne to see what his sons got up to.

9 Mai 201816min

Special: A load of baloney from  Bologna part 2

Special: A load of baloney from Bologna part 2

The second part of a two-part episode on the history of the city of Bologna. Her ewe cover the modern and contemporary eras of the regional capital of Emilia Romagna

2 Mai 201817min

Special: A load of baloney from Bologna Part 1

Special: A load of baloney from Bologna Part 1

This is the first part of a two-part series on the history of the city of Bologna, from pre-history to the end of the Middle Ages.

26 Apr 201824min

015 – A Confusing Christmas Coronation

015 – A Confusing Christmas Coronation

795 - 800 We look at the election and tumultuous adventures of pope Leo III before he goes on to crown Charlemagne, thus determining the relations between the papacy and the budding Holy Roman Empire for centuries to come

18 Apr 201813min

014 – Carolingian Italy

014 – Carolingian Italy

We have a look at the system that Charlemagne set up in Italy, the administration, the economy and the educational reform

11 Apr 201817min

Recap  01 Episodes 001 – 013 from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the fall of the Lombards

Recap 01 Episodes 001 – 013 from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the fall of the Lombards

A recap of the first thirteen episodes that acts as a refresher before we move on to the Carolingian reign in Italy and the growing power of the papcy and the Holy Roman Empire

4 Apr 201814min

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