Battle of Fornovo

League of Italian states band together to send the French army home

A 19th century painting of Charles VIII
of France (left) at the Battle of Fornovo

The first major open battle of the Italian Wars took place on this day in 1495 in Fornovo di Taro in the province of Parma in the region of Emilia-Romagna.

A French army took to the battlefield against combined troops from Venice, Milan, and Mantua. Soldiers were killed and wounded on both the French and the Italian sides, but the smaller French army claimed victory afterwards. However, it was also later celebrated as a victory against the French by Venice and Mantua.

After the battle, the French army were able to leave Italy safely, but they had to give up all the territory and valuables they had taken while they had been occupying the Italian peninsula.

It was just the start of a series of conflicts that were to take place in different parts of the peninsula between 1494 and 1559 between France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire, with various Italian states joining in on both sides. There was also some involvement from England, Switzerland, and the Ottoman Empire during the 150 years that the Italian Wars lasted.

The young King of France, Charles VIII, wanted to be a hero for the Christians in Europe and put a stop to the power of the Ottoman Turks. He decided that he would need to control the south of Italy in order to be able to do this and so he set out to claim the Kingdom of Naples.

He made agreements with his neighbouring countries by giving money to Henry VII of England and land to Ferdinand II of Spain and the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian.

Helped by Swiss mercenaries, Charles VIII moved through Italy easily and entered Naples in February 1495.

However, worried by the speed of his advance, some Italian states formed a Holy League with Pope Alexander VI, the Holy Roman Emperor, and the Kings of England and Spain.

After receiving news about the League being formed against him, Charles VIII left some of his troops behind to guard Naples, and marched north again with the rest of his army. 

A depiction of Charles VIII leading his
army into Florence in 1494

Meanwhile the Venetians and their allies set up camp near Fornovo di Taro in June and waited for the French army to arrive.

Knowing that his enemies were now growing in number and that he was running out of supplies, Charles decided on July 6 he would have to fight. 

The League was stationed on the right side of the Taro river with the French troops on the left bank.

The French started the battle near Parma on this day more than 500 years ago by firing their cannons to frighten their enemies and then sent their heavy cavalry to charge forward. After the French had managed to break through the Italian lines, Charles marched his troops into Lombardy and from there he was able to return to France safely.

Both sides said they had won the Battle of Fornovo after the event, and Francesco Gonzaga, the Marquess of Mantua, even commissioned a painting, Madonna della Vittoria, to commemorate the victory.

But the French had come up against a much larger army and had still been able to continue their march home.

King Ferdinand II returned to Naples with a Spanish fleet and quickly won back the city and Pope Alexander VI congratulated the Venetians on gaining ‘immortal fame’ by freeing Italy.

The main loser at the end of this battle was the Italian peninsula, because other countries in Europe now realised it was a rich land, divided into lots of small states that were easy to conquer. For the next 150 years, the peninsula was to become a battleground for the main European powers.

The Church of Santa Maria Assunta is the most
important religious building in Fornovo

Travel tip:

Fornovo di Taro is a town in the province of Parma, in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 100km (62 miles) west of Bologna and about 25km (16 miles) southwest of Parma.  It is situated where the Po Valley meets the Lunigiana Valley. Fornovo was an important stop in the Middle Ages on the pilgrims' road to Monte Bardone, along the Via Francigena. The town acquired a significant place in Italian military history for a second time in April, 1945 when it was liberated from Nazi occupation by soldiers from the Brazilian Expeditionary Force fighting with the Allies.  Under the command of General João Baptista Mascarenhas de Morais, the Brazilians marched into Fornovo at the conclusion of the four-day Battle of Collecchio. In the centre of the village one of the most important parish churches of the area, the church of Santa Maria Assunta, houses narrative friezes and sculptural pieces from the Antelami school.

Parma is the home of Parmigiano Reggiano, one
of Italy's most famous cheeses

Travel tip:

Parma is an historic city in the Emilia-Romagna region, famous for its Prosciutto di Parma ham and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, the true ‘parmesan’. In 1545 the city was given as a duchy to the illegitimate son of Pope Paul III, whose descendants ruled Parma till 1731. The composer, Verdi, was born near Parma at Busseto and the city has a prestigious opera house, the Teatro Regio, and a conservatory named in honour of Arrigo Boito, who wrote the libretti for many of Verdi’s operas.  An elegant city with an air of prosperity common to much of Emilia-Romagna, Parma’s outstanding architecture includes an 11th century Romanesque cathedral and the octagonal 12th century baptistery that adjoins it, the church of San Giovanni Evangelista, which has a beautiful late Mannerist facade and bell tower, and the Palazzo della Pilotta. The palazzo houses the Academy of Fine Arts, the Palatine Library, the National Gallery and an archaeological museum.

Also on this day:

1849: The death of Goffredo Mameli, writer of the Italian national anthem

1942: The death of Sicilian Mafia-buster Cesare Mori

2002: The death of wrongly imprisoned bombing suspect Pietro Valpreda

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Alfonso II - King of Naples

Ruler forced to abdicate after one year

Alfonso II became King on the 
death of his father in 1494

Alfonso II, who became King of Naples in 1494 but was forced to abdicate after just one year, was born on this day in 1448 in Naples.

Also known as Alfonso II of Aragon, as heir to Ferdinand I he had the title Duke of Calabia from the age of 10. Blessed with a natural flair for leadership and military strategy, he spent much of his life as a condottiero, leading the army of Naples in a number of conflicts.

He contributed to the Renaissance culture of his father’s court, building the splendid palaces of La Duchesca and Poggio Reale, although neither survived to be appreciated today.

Alfonso II also introduced improvements to the urban infrastructure of Naples, building new churches, tree-lined straight roads, and a sophisticated hydraulic system to supply the city’s fountains. 

He became King of Naples with the death of his father in January 1494 but stepped down in favour of his son, Ferdinand II, in January the following year as the powerful army of Charles VIII of France, who had launched an invasion of the Italian peninsula in September, 1494, prepared to take the city.

Alfonso fled to Sicily, seeking refuge in a monastery at Mazara del Vallo on the southwestern coast, about 25km (15 miles) from Marsala in the province of Trapani.  He died there in December 1495 at the age of 47.

The eldest son of Isabella de Clermont, the first wife of King Ferdinand I, Alfonso II inherited the title of King of Jerusalem on his mother’s death. After being given a humanist education from tutors in his father’s court, he became a career soldier.

A drawing depicting the scene of Alfonso's
abdication in favour of his son, Ferdinand II

His battlefield skills were praised when in 1467, still only 19 years old, he helped the Florentines against Venice. 

Other notable campaigns included the war waged by the Kingdom of Naples and Pope Sixtus IV against Florence following the attempt by the Pazzi family to assassinate Lorenzo de’ Medici in 1478, the reversal of the Ottoman invasion of Otranto in 1481, and a major intervention against Venice in the War of Ferrara, also known as the Salt War, between 1482 and 1484.

Closer to home, he advised his father to impose severe repressive measures to crush the so-called Conspiracy of the Barons in 1485, which made him many enemies. 

By the time Alfonso ascended to the throne in Naples with the death of his father, the Kingdom’s coffers were exhausted and the chances of repelling the armies of Charles VIII were much reduced.  The French king had been encouraged to attack Naples by Alfonso’s brother-in-law, Ludovico Sforza, who saw a chance to reassert his power in Milan. 

Pope Alexander VI tried to persuade Charles VIII to use his resources against the Turks instead but without success. By early 1495, Charles was approaching Naples, having defeated Florence and the Neapolitan fleet under Alfonso's brother, Frederick, at Porto Venere, at which point Alfonso took flight, handing power to his son, Ferdinand II, who offered no resistance as Charles VIII seized the crown on behalf of his father, Louis XI, who had inherited the Angevin claim to Naples.

A bust at the Victoria and Albert Museum in
London, said to be of Ippolita Maria Sforza

Notorious for a somewhat debauched lifestyle and innumerable lovers, Alfonso II had three legitimate children by his one marriage, to Ippolita Maria Sforza, and two out of wedlock by Trogia Gazzella, a noblewoman.

Of Alfonso’s two major villas in Naples - La Duchesca and Poggio Reale - the latter, a complex said to have been designed by the architect Giuliano da Maiano, was said to be so beautiful that Charles VIII described it as an “earthly paradise”. 

Located in a district now known as Poggioreale, the Poggio Reale complex fell into disrepair after Charles had left, taking many of its treasures back to France. In the 17th century, an attempt was made to restore it under King Philip III of Spain but a resurgence of bubonic plague put paid to that, and part of the grounds became a burial place for lepers. Ultimately, a cemetery was built on top of the ruins.

After his death in Sicily, Alfonso’s remains were buried at the Duomo di Messina, the Cathedral Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta.

The Norman church of San Nicolò Regale in
Mazaro del Vallo, built in 1124

Travel tip:

Mazara del Vallo, where Alfonso II sheltered after fleeing Naples, is a port and resort at the mouth of the Mazara river on the southwest coast of Sicily, 25km (15 miles) from Marsala and just over 130km (80 miles) from the island’s capital, Palermo. Founded by the Phoenicians in the ninth century BC, it has passed under the control of the Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Angevins, Catalans, Savoys, Habsburgs and Bourbons before being conquered by Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1860 and joining the newly-formed Kingdom of Italy. Attractions include the remains of a Norman Castle built in 1073 and demolished in 1880, the church of San Nicolò Regale, which is a rare example of Norman architecture, built in 1124, and the simple church of San Vito a Mare, built in 1776 on the site of old Norman remains on the edge of the water. Arab influences can be enjoyed in the historic Kasbah Mazara del Vallo district, while the Museo del Satiro Danzante houses a bronze statue of a dancing satyr believed to have been sculpted by Greek artist Praxiteles, which was found at a depth of 500m (1,600 ft) in the Strait of Sicily by a fishing boat in 1998. 

The triumphal arch that forms the gate of the Castel
Nuovo in Naples, home of the Aragonese court

Travel tip:

The Aragonese court in Naples was based at Castel Nuovo, often known as the Maschio Angioino, the imposing castle that stands on the water’s edge in Naples, overlooking the Piazza Municipio. Alfonso of Aragon, who had conquered the throne of Naples in 1443, had the fortress completely rebuilt in its present form, entrusting the renovation of the old Angevin palace-fortress to an Aragonese architect, Guillem Sagrera. The five round towers, four of which were part of the square Angevin structure, reaffirmed the defensive role of the castle, while the castle’s status as a centre of royal power was underlined by the construction at the entrance, between the two western towers, of a triumphal arch, a masterpiece of Neapolitan Renaissance architecture which was the work of Francesco Laurana and others. It was built in 1470 and commemorates Alfonso of Aragon's entry into Naples in 1443.

Also on this day:

1333 and 1966: Devastating floods in Florence

1575: The birth of Bolognese painter Guido Reni

1737: The inauguration of Teatro di San Carlo

1964: The birth of crime writer Sandrone Dazieri

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