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91-522: The building was constructed between 1506 and 1508 by Francesco II Gonzaga and became his favourite residence until his death in 1519. It was designed by Gerolamo Arcari and Bernardino Ghisolfo , who also commissioned artists such as Lorenzo Leonbruno , Matteo Costa and Lorenzo Costa the Elder to decorate the interior. The Palazzo's main hall was also the original setting for Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar , now at Hampton Court near London. After 1519

182-503: A "femmina di partito" with whom to celebrate the victory, under the pretext of protecting both him and his wife and sister Isabella from malfrancese. Francis also actively practiced sodomy , according to the ancient Greek custom , very widespread almost everywhere at that time, as he himself proudly claims in his poisonous letter of accusations to Galeazzo Sanseverino , dated 1503: "I am reputed and raised by nobility of birth and good morals; you for human and ass favors (and I usually have

273-507: A French army under Gaston of Foix to march through his territory to reach Brescia. During Francesco's absences, Mantua was governed by his wife Isabella d'Este , whom he had married on 12 February 1490. Under their reign, Mantua knew a great age of cultural splendour, with the presence in the city of artists such as Andrea Mantegna and Jacopo Bonacolsi . Francesco had the Palace of St. Sebastian built, where Mantegna's Triumph of Caesar

364-563: A band of cavalry fled Milan, heading northward to the Holy Roman Empire. Louis XII, staying in Lyon , heard about the surrender of Milan on 17 September 1499. He immediately left Lyon and on 6 October 1499, Louis XII made his triumphant entry into Milan. Marshal Trevulzio presented the key to the city to Louis, who in turn appointed Marshal Trivulzio as the temporary French governor of Milan. Later, Louis appointed Georges d' Amboise as

455-563: A day of opening fire, the French batteries had knocked down 100 feet of the old medieval walls surrounding the city. Even with the breach in their walls, the Pisans put up such a determined resistance that Beaumont despaired of ever taking Pisa. On 11 July 1500, the French broke camp and retreated north. The diversion to Pisa and the failure there emboldened opponents of the French in Italy. Pursuing

546-759: A further four stillborn sons to the new king, but also two surviving daughters. The elder daughter, Claude (1499–1524), was betrothed by her mother's arrangement to the future Emperor Charles V in 1501. But after Anne failed to produce a living son, Louis dissolved the betrothal and betrothed Claude to his heir presumptive , Francis of Angoulême , thereby insuring that Brittany would remain united with France. Anne opposed this marriage, which took place only after her death in 1514. Claude succeeded her mother in Brittany and became queen consort to Francis. The younger daughter, Renée (1510–1575), married Duke Ercole II of Ferrara . After Anne's death, Louis married Mary Tudor ,

637-548: A long relationship with Lucrezia Borgia . On 29 March 1519, Francesco, who had suffered from syphilis , died. He was succeeded by his son Federico , with Isabella acting as regent. Another son, Ferrante Gonzaga originated the branch of the Counts of Guastalla . Francesco was known for his passion for women, so much so that, on the occasion of the siege of Novara in 1495, his sister-in-law Beatrice d'Este , wanting to ingratiate herself with him, offered to personally procure him

728-476: A much more damaging effect on Sforza's army, because his army was composed of a larger proportion of Swiss than the French army under La Trémoille. Faced with the return of the French and his own greatly reduced force, Sforza decided to slip out of Milan as he had done previously. This time, however, Sforza was captured and spent the rest of his life in a French prison. Despite Milan's openly warm welcome of Sforza (which Louis XII regarded as "treasonous"), Louis XII

819-539: A new coalition gathered by Ferdinand II of Aragon and was forced to cede Naples to Spain in 1504. Louis, who remained Duke of Milan after the second Italian War, was interested in further expansion in the Italian Peninsula and launched a third Italian War (1508–1516), which was marked by the military prowess of the Chevalier de Bayard . Louis XII did not encroach on the power of local governments or

910-552: A party at the door of others, and not at mine!)". It is well known that he surrounded himself with ruffians and mezzani, who had the task of procuring for him girls and young ephebes . One of these was, among others, Ludovico Camposampiero  [ it ] , who therefore ran into the hatred of the Marquise. Isabella d'Este and Francesco Gonzaga had: Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 1462 – 1 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans ,

1001-601: A pious and chivalrous king to the public, Louis adopted titles such as Father of the People and compared himself to figures like St. Louis to highlight his commitment to justice and reform rather than simply military dominance. Louis's initial of L was often decorated with an open royal crown and laced with fleurs-de-lys . In addition, Louis's personal colors were red and yellow (or gold). Thus, guard regiment uniforms, manuscript color schemes, flags, often adorned Louis's royal colors and his initial. Moreover, Louis popularized

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1092-463: A popular king. Historians often attribute Louis's popularity to his tax reduction policies. While Francis I eventually raised taxes, Louis's redaction of law codes and the creation of new parlements were longer-lasting. He duly earned the title of Father of the People (" Le Père du Peuple ") conferred upon him by the Estates in 1506. This was the first and only time that a French king was bestowed

1183-491: A stern disciplinarian, Lord Stuart held the troops of his army to strict decorum during most of the march to Naples. However, discipline fell apart when the army passed through Capua . The French army plundered and raped Capua mercilessly. However, when news of the rape of Capua spread throughout southern Italy, resistance to the French vanished. Frederick fled and the French Army entered Naples unopposed. Louis XII claimed

1274-502: A storehouse and barracks for the Austrian government . This usage accelerated the damage to and decay of the original structure, with the frescoes almost completely disappearing, especially when the building was used as a hospital in 1883. It was restored in the 20th century and became a public baths, an elephant colony, schools, storerooms and recreational societies. Another restoration from 1999 to 2003 aimed wherever possible to restore

1365-473: A victory. Francesco was described as "short, pop-eyed, snub-nosed and exceptionally brave, and was regarded as the finest knight in Italy". Francesco briefly commanded the Venetian army, but in 1502 he left to pay his respects to Louis XII who was then at Milan. By 29 April, he was with Louis XII when Genoa fell to the French army. Francesco, taking the initiative after the French victory at Agnadello ,

1456-537: Is known as the " Great Italian War " (1499–1504) or "King Louis XII's War". However, before initiating any war Louis XII needed to deal with the international threats that he faced. In August 1498, he signed a peace treaty with the Emperor Maximillian I of the Holy Roman Empire . With Maximillian I neutralized, Louis wanted to turn his attention to King Henry VII of England. However, Henry

1547-661: The Angoulême cadet branch of the House of Valois. Louis d'Orléans was born on 27 June 1462 in the Château de Blois , Touraine (in the modern French department of Loir-et-Cher ). The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans , and Marie of Cleves . His father was almost seventy years old when Louis was born. Louis was only three years old when he succeeded as Duke of Orléans upon the death of his father in 1465. Louis XI, who had become king of France in 1461, became highly distrustful of

1638-620: The Auld Alliance between France and Scotland that had been in existence since King Philippe IV of France first recognised Robert the Bruce (1306–1329) as King of Scotland in 1309. In early 1499, the old alliance between Scotland and France was renewed and the attentions of England were drawn northwards towards Scotland rather than southwards towards continental Europe. With the major powers preoccupied or pledged to peace with France, Louis XII could attend to two other neighbours on his border:

1729-748: The Estates General began to arrive in Tours, France. The deputies represented three different "estates" in society. The First Estate was the Church; in France this meant the Roman Catholic Church. The Second Estate was composed of the nobility and the royalty of France. The Third Estate was generally composed of commoners and the class of traders and merchants in France. Louis, the current Duke of Orleans and future Louis XII, attended as part of

1820-654: The Holy League of the League of Cambrai specifically to thwart the ambitions of France. The French were eventually driven from Milan in 1513 by the Swiss . Under Louis XII, there was an unprecedented explosion of propaganda and publicity for the French crown. Louis XII had numerous large ceremonies for the various marriages, funerals, and other events that occurred under his reign. These occasions provided Louis with opportunities to project royal power and elevate Louis, which

1911-507: The Orléans cadet branch of the House of Valois . When Louis XII became king in 1498, he had his marriage with Joan annulled by Pope Alexander VI and instead married Anne, Duchess of Brittany , the widow of Charles VIII. This marriage allowed Louis to reinforce the personal Union of Brittany and France . Louis of Orléans was one of the great feudal lords who opposed the French monarchy in

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2002-676: The Swiss Confederation and the Duchy of Savoy . In March 1499, Louis signed an agreement with the Swiss Confederation that promised 20,000 francs as an annual subsidy for simply allowing the French to recruit an unspecified number of troops in the Confederation. In exchange, Louis promised to protect the Confederation from any aggression from Maximillian and the Holy Roman Empire. Louis opened negotiations with

2093-475: The Treaty of Granada , which brought Spain into Italian politics in a big way for the first time. Louis XII was severely criticized by contemporary historians including Niccolò Machiavelli ; Machiavelli's criticism of Louis XII is contained in his work The Prince . Louis's failure to hold on to Naples prompted a commentary by Niccolò Machiavelli in his book, The Prince : King Louis was brought into Italy by

2184-630: The Belfiore conspiracy; the period between the Second and Third Wars of Independence. 45°09′01″N 10°47′13″E  /  45.15035°N 10.78692°E  / 45.15035; 10.78692 Francesco II Gonzaga Francesco II Gonzaga (10 August 1466 – ( 1519-03-29 ) 29 March 1519) was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1484 until his death. Francesco was born in Mantua,

2275-831: The City Museum. The weapons, uniforms, newspapers, manifestoes, paintings and stamps in the Risorgimento collection date from the Napoleonic era until the Third Italian War of Independence , after which Mantua was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy . The display deals with Mantua's part in the Risorgimento and consists of five sections - the Napoleonic era; the Restoration and the Revolutions of 1848 ;

2366-593: The Duchy of Milan, weakened by an economic crisis, and on 11 June 1495 he occupied with his troops the city of Novara, which was given to him for treason. He was on the verge of subjugating the Moro, who proved unable to cope with the situation, but clashed with the fierce opposition of his wife Beatrice d'Este , who forced him to a long and exhausting siege from which he finally came out defeated. After becoming king in 1499, Louis XII pursued his ambition to claim Milan in what

2457-481: The Duchy of Savoy and by May 1499 had hammered out an agreement that allowed French troops to cross Savoy to reach the Duchy of Milan. The agreement with Savoy also allowed France to purchase supplies and to recruit troops in Savoy. Finally, Louis was ready to march into Italy. The French army had been a potent force in 1494 when Charles VIII had first invaded Italy. However, during the remainder of Charles VIII's reign,

2548-478: The Florentine governors of the city. The Florentines requested aid from the French to recapture Pisa, as the city of Florence had long been an ally of France in Italian affairs. However, Louis and his advisers were miffed at Florence because in the recent fight against Sforza, Florence had chosen to abandon France and remain strictly neutral. The French knew that they would need Florence in the coming campaign in

2639-491: The French army had swollen to 30,000 men by recruitment along the way. Many of these new recruits in the French army were Swiss mercenaries. The government of the Swiss Confederation heard about the coming battle and forbade any Swiss soldier from fighting against a fellow Swiss, which effectively subtracted all the Swiss from both sides for this particular battle. These troops then started to march back home to Switzerland. This had

2730-651: The French by changing sides in the war and joining the anti-French League of Venice (sometimes called the "Holy League"). This left Louis, the Duke of Orleans, in an awkward and inferior military position at the Battle of Fornovo on 6 July 1495. As a result, Louis had come to hate Ludovico Sforza. Accordingly, even before he became King of France, Louis began to claim the Duchy of Milan as his own inheritance, which should have come to his by right of his paternal grandmother Valentina Visconti . On this occasion he tried to conquer

2821-454: The Kingdom of France. To sustain this union, Louis XII had his marriage to Joan annulled (December 1498) after he became king so that he could marry Charles VIII's widow, Anne of Brittany. The annulment, described as "one of the seamiest lawsuits of the age", was not simple. Louis did not, as one might have expected, argue the marriage to be void due to consanguinity (the general allowance for

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2912-562: The Kingdom of Naples between France and Spain. The Pope was pleased and enthusiastically issued a bull naming the two kings – Louis XII of France and Ferdinand II of Spain – as the Pope's vassals in Naples. Indeed, the public announcement of the treaty in the Vatican was the first news that King Frederick of Naples had received about his fate and his betrayal by his own cousin, Ferdinand. Being

3003-408: The Kingdom of Naples – French troops would need to cross Florentine territory on their way to Naples and they would need Florentine agreement to do so. Accordingly, a French army including 600 knights and 6,000 Swiss infantrymen under the command of Sire de Beaumont was sent to Pisa. On 29 June 1500, a combined French and Florentine force laid siege to Pisa and set up batteries around the town. Within

3094-475: The Kingdom of Naples, Louis XII sent an army under the command of Bernard Stuart of Aubigny composed of 1,000 lances, 10,000 infantrymen including 5,000 Swiss troops to Naples in early June 1501. In May 1501, Louis had obtained free passage for his troops to march through Bologne on the way to Naples. As the army approached Rome, Spanish and French ambassadors notified Pope Alexander VI of the thus far secret Treaty of Grenada, signed 11 November 1500, which divided

3185-538: The Palazzo lost its prime position among the Gonzaga palaces, with its most valuable furniture and paintings moved elsewhere, and it was used by the Gonzaga di Novellara, Gazzuolo and Castiglione delle Stiviere branches of the family. It was in this Palazzo that Aloysius Gonzaga (a future saint) ceded his inheritance to his younger brother Rodolfo. The building was then forgotten until the mid 18th century, when it became

3276-746: The Prince and Princess of Provence, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya Barcelona, originally in the church of San Bartolomeo in Caspano . The King and Queen of France, identified as princes of Provence, are kneeling, the King has in his hands the crown that appears on the coins minted by the Mint of Milan. This is the only portrait, full-length, of a king of France, performed by a painter of the Italian Renaissance, who has come up to us. Under Louis's reign,

3367-582: The Second Estate. Each estate brought its chief complaints to the Estates General in hopes to have some impact on the policies that the new King would pursue. The First Estate (the Church) wanted a return to the " Pragmatic Sanction ". The Pragmatic Sanction had been first instituted by King Charles VII, the former King Charles VIII's grandfather. The Pragmatic Sanction excluded the papacy from

3458-540: The Venetians began to see the folly of what they had done, since in order to gain for themselves a couple of districts in Lombardy, they had now made the king master of a third of Italy. Consider how easy it would have been for the king to maintain his position in Italy if he had observed the rules [of not worrying about weaker powers, decreasing the strength of a major power, not introducing a very powerful foreigner in

3549-437: The Venetians was excusable, since it gave Louis a foothold in Italy; the division of Naples with Spain was an error, since there was no such necessity for it. [When Louis made the final mistake of] depriving the Venetians of their power (who never would have let anyone else into Lombardy unless they were in control), he thus lost Lombardy. Niccolò Machiavelli , The Prince , Chapter III To assert his claim to his half of

3640-400: The ambition of Alexander and keep him from becoming master of Tuscany , he was forced to come to Italy himself [in 1502]. Not satisfied with having made the Church powerful and deprived himself of his friends, he went after the kingdom of Naples and divided it with the king of Spain (Ferdinand II). And where before he alone had been the arbiter of Italy, he brought in a rival to whom everyone in

3731-505: The ambition of the Venetians, who expected by his coming to get control of half the state of Lombardy . I don't mean to blame the king for his part in the scheme; he wanted a foothold in Italy, and not only had no friends in the province, but found all doors barred against him because of King Charles's behavior. Hence he had to take what friendships he could get; and if he had made no further mistakes in his other arrangements, he might have carried things off very successfully. By taking Lombardy,

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3822-449: The annulment on the grounds that Louis did not freely marry, but was forced to marry by Joan's father Louis XI. Outraged, Joan reluctantly submitted, saying that she would pray for her former husband. She became a nun; she was canonized in 1950. Louis married the reluctant queen dowager, Anne, in 1499. Still only 22, Anne, who had borne as many as seven stillborn or short-lived children during her previous marriage to King Charles, now bore

3913-436: The appointment of Philip of Cleves , a cousin of Louis XII, as its new governor. Additionally, the French king now began to espouse his claim to the Kingdom of Naples , though the legal rationale for this claim was weaker than for his claim to Milan, stemming only from his position as the successor to Charles VIII. Nonetheless, Louis XII pursued the claim with vigor. The presence of several French garrisons in southern Italy,

4004-439: The army had been allowed to deteriorate through neglect. Ever since becoming king, Louis XII had been rebuilding the French army. Now he could put it to use. On 10 August 1499, after marching across Savoy and through the town of Asti , the French army crossed the border into the Duchy of Milan. Contrary to the wishes of the Second Estate (the nobles and royalty of France), expressed at the Estates General in 1484, this French army

4095-520: The building to its original scheme and at least partially to recover the interior and exterior wall paintings and decoration. It allowed the fragments of external fresco to be stabilised and recovered, showing them to be typical of Mantuan buildings from 1550 to 1600. In 2003 the Loggia dei marmi and cycle of frescoes in the Camera del Crogiuolo , Camera delle Frecce and Camera del Sole were all opened to

4186-456: The city rose up. On 1 February 1500, Marshal Trivulzio decided that he could not hold the city, and the French retreated to the fortresses west of the city. Sforza was welcomed back into the city by a joyous crowd of his supporters on 5 February 1500. Louis XII raised another army under Louis de La Trémoille and sent him to recapture Milan. By the time Trémoille reached the forts west of Milan where Marshal Trivulzio and his force were holding out,

4277-467: The claim to the Kingdom of Naples had become politically impossible until some of the opponents were neutralized. One opponent in particular was Spain. It was at this point, in 1500, that Louis XII pursued the claim of his immediate predecessor to the Kingdom of Naples with Ferdinand II, the King of Aragon and with Queen Isabel of Castile, ruler of Spain. On 11 November 1500, Ferdinand II and Louis XII signed

4368-550: The close relationship between the Orleanists and the Burgundians and began to oppose the idea of an Orleanist ever coming to the throne of France. However, Louis XI might have been more influenced in this opinion by his opposition to the entire Orleanist faction of the royal family than by the actual facts of this paternity case. Despite any alleged doubts that King Louis XI had, the King, nevertheless, became "godfather" of

4459-579: The command of Louis d' Armagnac, Duke of Nemours against the Spanish in Apulia . Louis's greatest success came in the War of the League of Cambrai (1508–1516), his final war, fought against the Venetians, who had again become his enemy. The French army won the Battle of Agnadello on 14 May 1509. However, things became much more difficult in 1510, when the army of Pope Julius II intervened. Julius II founded

4550-578: The conflict known as the Mad War . At the royal victory in the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier in 1488, Louis was captured, but Charles VIII pardoned him and released him. He subsequently took part in the Italian Wars , initiating a second Italian campaign for the control of the Kingdom of Naples . Louis conquered the Duchy of Milan in 1500 and pushed forward to the Kingdom of Naples, which fell to him in 1501. Proclaimed King of Naples, Louis faced

4641-455: The deputies were told that there was no more money to pay their salaries, and the Estates General meekly concluded its business and went home. The Estates General of 1484 is called, by historians, the most important Estates General until the Estates General of 1789. Important as they were, many of the reforms suggested at the meeting of the Estates General were not immediately adopted. Rather the reforms would only be acted on when Louis XII came to

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4732-409: The dissolution of a marriage at that time). Though he could produce witnesses to claim that the two were closely related due to various linking marriages, there was no documentary proof, merely the opinions of courtiers. Likewise, Louis could not argue that he had been below the legal age of consent (fourteen) to marry: no one was certain when he had been born, with Louis claiming to have been twelve at

4823-459: The east in an attempt to aid the Milanese army before it was too late. Accordingly, Marshal Trivulzio marched his army to Pavia , the last fortified town in the Duchy of Milan. With French troops already near Pavia, a short distance west of the city of Milan, Lodovico Sforza determined that it was useless to continue resisting the French. Accordingly, on the night of 2 September 1499, Sforza and

4914-414: The fortified town of Rocca di Arazzo in the western part of the Duchy of Milan. After five hours of bombardment by the French artillery batteries, the walls of Rocca di Arazzo were breached and the town was taken by the French. Louis XII had ordered his army to massacre the garrison and many civilians as a message to the other towns in the Duchy against resistance to the French army. The legal rationale for

5005-467: The gates of town of Alessandro, and his batteries began battering the walls of the town on 25 August 1499. At first, a vigorous defense was mounted by the garrison, but on 29 August 1499, the city gave up and the garrison and the governor of the city slipped out of town before dawn. Marshal Trivulzio now became aware that the Venetian army, allies of the Duchy of Milan, were crossing into the Duchy from

5096-547: The great-grandson of King Charles V , the most senior claimant as heir of Charles VIII. Thus, Louis, Duke of Orleans, succeeded to the throne on 7 April 1498 as Louis XII upon the death of King Charles VIII. Although he came late (and unexpectedly) to power, Louis acted with vigour, reforming the French legal system, reducing taxes, and improving the government much like his contemporary Henry VII did in England. To meet his budget after having reduced taxes, Louis XII reduced

5187-632: The king quickly regained the reputation lost by Charles. Genoa yielded, and the Florentines turned friendly, the Marquis of Mantua , the Duke of Ferrara , the Bentivogli (of Bologna), the countess of Forlì ( Caterina Sforza ), the lords of Faenza , Pesaro , Rimini , Camerino , Piombino , and the people of Lucca , Pisa, and Siena all sought him out with professions of friendship. At this point

5278-494: The kingdom who was ambitious on his own account or dissatisfied with Louis could have recourse. He could have left in Naples a caretaker king of his own, but he threw him out, and substituted a man capable of driving out Louis himself. If France could have taken Naples with her own power, she should have done so; if she could not, she should not have split the kingdom with the Spaniards. The division of Lombardy that she made with

5369-414: The massacre at Rocca di Arazzo was that defenders of the town were traitors because they had risen up in arms against their rightful lord, Louis XII. The French repeated the episode at Annone , the next fortified town on the road to the city of Milan. This time the massacre had the desired effect, as three more fortified towns surrendered without a fight. Marshall Trivulzio then brought the French Army up to

5460-409: The midst of his new subjects and taking up residence among his new subjects and/or setting up colonies], and become the protector and defender of his new friends. They were many, they were weak, some of them were afraid of the Venetians, others of the Church, hence they were bound to stick by him; and with their help, he could easily have protected himself against the remaining great powers. But no sooner

5551-483: The military. The deputies of the Third Estate (the merchants and traders) wanted taxes to be drastically reduced and that the revenue needs of the crown be met by reducing royal pensions and the number of offices. All three of the estates were in agreement on the demand for an end to the sale of government offices. By 7 March 1484, the King announced that he was leaving Tours because of poor health. Five days later

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5642-429: The newborn. King Louis XI died on 30 August 1483. He was succeeded to the throne of France by his thirteen-year-old son, Charles VIII. Nobody knew the direction which the new king (or more accurately his regent and oldest sister, Anne of France) would take in leading the kingdom. Accordingly, on 24 October 1483, a call went out for a convocation of the Estates General of the French kingdom. In January 1484, deputies of

5733-467: The night". Louis also claimed that his sexual performance had been inhibited by witchcraft . Joan responded by asking how he was able to know what it was like to try to make love to her. Had the Papacy been a neutral party, Joan would likely have won, for Louis's case was exceedingly weak. Pope Alexander VI, however, had political reasons to grant the annulment, and ruled against Joan accordingly. He granted

5824-513: The pensions for the nobility and for foreign princes. In religious policy, Louis XII reinstituted the Pragmatic Sanction, which established the Roman Catholic Church in France as a "Gallic Church" with most of the power of appointment in the hands of the king or other French officials. As noted above, these reforms had been proposed at the meeting of the Estates General in 1484. Louis was also skilled in managing his nobility, including

5915-484: The permanent governor of Milan. In an attempt to win popularity with the public in Milan, Louis lowered the old Sforza taxes by as much as one-third. Meanwhile, Ludovico Sforza had been gathering an army, mainly among the Swiss, to take Milan back. In mid-January 1500, his army crossed the border into the Duchy of Milan and marched toward the city of Milan. Upon hearing the news of Sforza's return, some of his partisans in

6006-529: The powerful Bourbon faction, greatly contributing to the stability of French government. In the Ordinance of Blois of 1499 and the Ordinance of Lyon issued in June 1510 he extended the powers of royal judges and made efforts to curb corruption in the law. Highly complex French customary law was codified and ratified by the royal proclamation of the Ordinance of Blois of 1499. The Ordinance of Lyon tightened up

6097-438: The privileges of the nobility, in opposition with the long tradition of the French kings to attempt to impose absolute monarchy in France . A popular king, Louis was proclaimed " Father of the People " ( French : Le Père du Peuple ) for his reduction of the tax known as taille , legal reforms, and civil peace within France. Louis XII died in 1515 without a male heir. He was succeeded by his cousin and son-in-law Francis I from

6188-433: The process of appointing bishops and abbots in France. Instead, these positions would be filled by appointment made by the cathedrals and monastery chapters themselves. All church prelates within France would be appointed by the King of France without reference to the pope. The deputies representing the Second Estate (the nobility) at the Estates General of 1484 wanted all foreigners to be prohibited from command positions in

6279-473: The province of Brittany finally became a de facto permanent province of France – although this was not legally completed until 1547. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes. In spite of his military and diplomatic failures, Louis proved to be

6370-616: The public. The 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes damaged some rooms in the Palazzo. The Museum was founded in the 19th century as the Museo Patrio. It is displayed in seven thematic sections: The works displayed included: The Museo del Risorgimento di Mantova was inaugurated on 3 March 1903, the fiftieth anniversary of the death of the Belfiore martyrs . It was based in several different locations until in 2005, with no base of its own, its collections were formally merged into that of

6461-402: The remnants of Charles VIII's first invasion of Italy, provided Louis XII with a toehold in southern Italy from which he hoped to enforce his claim to the Kingdom of Naples. However, Louis first had to deal with a recurring problem in northern Italy. In 1406, the city of Pisa was conquered by Florence but had been in constant revolt almost ever since. In 1494, the Pisans successfully overthrew

6552-581: The royal army at the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier on 28 July 1488 but was defeated and captured. Pardoned three years later, Louis joined his cousin King Charles VIII in campaigns in Italy, leading the vanguards of the army. All four children of Charles VIII by Anne of Brittany died in infancy. The French interpretation of the Salic Law permitted claims to the French throne only by male agnatic descendants of French kings. This made Louis,

6643-481: The sister of Henry VIII of England , in Abbeville , France, on 9 October 1514. This represented a final attempt to produce an heir to his throne, for despite two previous marriages the king had no living sons. Louis died on 1 January 1515, less than three months after he married Mary, reputedly worn out by his exertions in the bedchamber, but more likely from the effects of gout . Their union produced no children, and

6734-410: The son of Marquis Federico I Gonzaga . Francesco had a career as a condottiero acting as Venice 's commander from 1489 to 1498. He was the commander-in-chief of the army of the Italian league in the battle of Fornovo , under the tutorage of his more experienced uncle Ridolfo Gonzaga: even though Francesco was unable to stop Charles VIII and his army from returning to France, he claimed Fornovo as

6825-412: The specific honorific of Father of the People . In 1476 he was forced by King Louis XI (his second cousin) to marry his daughter Joan of France. Charles VIII (son of Louis XI) succeeded to the throne of France in 1483, but died childless in 1498, when the throne passed to Louis XII. Charles had been married to Anne, Duchess of Brittany , in order to unite the quasi-sovereign Duchy of Brittany with

6916-449: The state portrait as a propaganda tool. He employed numerous artists to capture him and produce individualized, miniature portraits that can be found in manuscripts today. Furthermore, Louis's propaganda arsenal was greatly expanded with the addition of portrait coins – first minted in France in 1514. As the Duke of Milan, Louis XII, he is portrayed in the painting of Alvise De Donati, Maria Maddalena, Marta, Lazarro and Maximino adored by

7007-470: The tax collection system requiring, for instance, that tax collectors forward all money to the government within eight days after they collected it from the people. Fines and loss of office were prescribed for violations of this ordinance. The French Kingdom under Charles VIII invaded Italy in 1494 to protect the Duchy of Milan from the threats of the Republic of Venice . At the time, the Duchy of Milan

7098-507: The throne of Naples and pursuant to the sharing agreement with Ferdinand II shared half the income of Naples with Spain. However, as Machiavelli had predicted, the agreement could not last and in early 1502 relations between France and Spain had gone sour. Negotiations were started between France and Spain over their disagreements about Naples. However, in April 1502, without waiting for the conclusion of these negotiations, Louis sent an army under

7189-423: The throne. Since Charles VIII was only thirteen years of age when he became king, his older sister Anne was to serve as regent until Charles VIII became 20 years old. From 1485 through 1488, there was another war against the royal authority of France conducted by a collections of nobles. This war was the Mad War (1485–1488), Louis's war against Anne. Allied with Francis II, Duke of Brittany , Louis confronted

7280-520: The time, and others ranging in their estimates between eleven and thirteen. As there was no real proof, he had perforce to bring forward other arguments. Accordingly, Louis (much to the dismay of his wife) claimed that Joan was physically malformed (providing a rich variety of detail precisely how) and that he had therefore been unable to consummate the marriage. Joan, unsurprisingly, fought this uncertain charge fiercely, producing witnesses to Louis's boast of having "mounted my wife three or four times during

7371-429: Was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans , and Marie of Cleves , he succeeded his second cousin once removed and brother-in-law, Charles VIII , who died childless in 1498. Louis was the second cousin of King Louis XI , who compelled him to marry Louis XI's disabled and supposedly sterile daughter Joan . By doing so, Louis XI hoped to extinguish

7462-416: Was being led by a foreigner, Gian Giacomo Trivulzio . Marshall Trivulzio had been in the service of the French throne since the reign of Louis XI, but he had been born and raised in Milan. The French army that Marshal Trivulzio now commanded consisted of 27,000 men of which 10,000 were mounted. The French army was also supplied with 5,000 Swiss mercenaries. In the campaign of 1499, the French army surrounded

7553-458: Was common belief at the time that the porcupine could shoot its quills, the porcupine symbolized the offensive and defensive capabilities of the king. During his years of conquest, Louis portrayed his kingdom to the public as a porcupine – a supposedly invincible creature feared by all. However, by the second half of his reign, Louis began to relegate the aggressive porcupine into a simple heraldic symbol for identification. Seeking to paint himself as

7644-489: Was eventually placed. The Palace was where Francesco lived when in Mantua. His wife, Isabella d'Este remained at the Castello di San Giorgio where she had her own suite of rooms. On completing the decoration of his rooms at the palace, Francesco asked his wife for her views. Isabella commented favourably, though she did say that the decorations were almost as good as those within her studiolo . Beginning in 1503, he started

7735-483: Was he established in Milan than he took exactly the wrong tack, helping Pope Alexander to occupy the Romagna . And he never realized that by this decision he was weakening himself, driving away his friends and those who had flocked to him, while strengthening the Church by adding vast temporal power to the spiritual power which gives it so much authority. Having made this first mistake, he was forced into others. To limit

7826-441: Was largely done through iconography . Furthermore, while these royal images flooded the kingdom, popular writers – encouraged by Louis's lack of censorship – disseminated praise of their king. Louis adopted the porcupine as his personal badge and as a royal beast. As a result, the popularity of the now royal creature exploded, resulting in the placement of porcupines in illuminated manuscripts , on edifices, and on cannons. As it

7917-407: Was occupying lands that he had lost to Venice. He was marching to Legnago with a company of French lances, when he was captured by the Venetians. Francesco only gained his freedom by giving his son Federico II as hostage. Once free, he was placed in command of papal troops, although he was ineffective since he stayed in Mantua. By 17 February 1510, Francesco, no longer involved in the war, allowed

8008-410: Was one of the most prosperous regions of Europe. Louis, the current Duke of Orleans and future King Louis XII, joined Charles VIII on this campaign. The French Kingdom was responding to an appeal for assistance from Ludovico Sforza , Duke of Milan. The invasion set off a series of wars that would last from 1494 until 1559 and would become known as the " Italian Wars ". In 1495, Ludovico Sforza betrayed

8099-422: Was so hostile to France that he had founded the anti-French League of Venice in 1495. In August 1498, Louis XII succeeded in signing a treaty with Spain that ignored all the territorial disputes between France and Spain and merely pledged mutual friendship and non-aggression. This allowed enough freedom for Louis XII to start negotiating with Scotland for an alliance. Actually, Louis was merely seeking to revive

8190-525: Was then pursuing a marriage between his eldest son, Arthur, and Catherine of Aragon , the Infanta of Spain. Thus he needed to detach Spain from its close relations with England before he could deal with Henry VII. Furthermore, Spain was then a member of the anti-French League of Venice. Ferdinand of Aragon , king of the newly unified Spain, directed all relations between Spain and the French on behalf of himself and his queen, Isabella I of Castile . Ferdinand

8281-419: Was very generous to the city in victory. While Sforza had been in charge of Milan, the export of grain had been forbidden. Now the French reopened the trade in grain, setting off a decade of prosperity in Milan. Milan was to remain a French stronghold in Italy for twelve years. Using Milan as his firmly established base, Louis XII began to turn his attention to other parts of Italy. The city of Genoa agreed to

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