Italian Wars

Italian Wars
	Part of the French–Habsburg rivalry, the Anglo-French wars, and the Ottoman–Habsburg wars
	; Left to right, top to bottom: Battle of Fornovo, 1495; Battle of Ravenna, 1512; Battle of Marignano, 1515; Battle of Pavia, 1525; Battle of Ceresole, 1544; Battle of St. Quentin, 1557;
Date	1494–1498; 1499–1501; 1502–1504; 1508–1516; 1521–1526; 1526–1530; 1536–1538; 1542–1546; 1551–1559
Location	Primarily Italian Peninsula, also County of Flanders, the Rhineland, France, Spain and the Mediterranean Sea
Result	Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis
Territorial; changes	Habsburg Spain gains sovereign over the kingdoms of Sicily, Naples (including the Presidi), Sardinia and the Duchy of Milan; Lorraine cedes Three Bishoprics to France; France gains Calais from England; Independent Savoyard state re-established; Florence annexes Siena;
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders

The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts fought between 1494 and 1559 in the Italian Peninsula, with subsidiary theatres in Flanders, the Rhineland and Mediterranean Sea. A product of the long-running French–Habsburg rivalry, its primary belligerents were France versus the Holy Roman Empire and Habsburg Spain, supported by numerous Italian states at different stages, along with England, and the Ottoman Empire.

The collapse of the Italic League in 1492 allowed Charles VIII of France to invade Naples in 1494, which drew in Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Although he was forced to withdraw in 1495, ongoing political divisions among the Italian states made them a battleground in the struggle for European domination between France and the Habsburgs.

After 1503, most of the fighting was initiated by French invasions of Lombardy and Piedmont, but although able to hold territory for periods of time, they could not do so permanently. By 1557, the growth of Protestantism meant the major belligerents faced internal conflict over religion, forcing them to refocus on domestic affairs. This led to the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis, under which France was largely expelled from Italy, but in exchange gained Calais from England, and the Three Bishoprics from Lorraine. In turn, Spain acquired sovereignty over the Kingdom of Naples and Kingdom of Sicily in southern Italy, as well the Duchy of Milan in northern Italy.

Fought with considerable brutality, the wars took place against the background of religious turmoil caused by the Reformation, particularly in France and the Holy Roman Empire. They are seen as a turning point in the evolution from medieval to modern warfare, with the use of the arquebus or handgun becoming common, along with significant technological improvements in siege artillery. Literate commanders and modern printing methods also make them one of the first conflicts with a significant number of contemporary accounts, including those of Francesco Guicciardini, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Blaise de Montluc.