The wars in Lombardy between Venice and Milan, lasted from 1425 to the signing of the Treaty of Lodi in 1454. During their course, the political structure of Italy was transformed: out of a competitive congeries of communes and city-states, emerged the five major Italian powers that would make up the map of Italy until the Napoleonic era. The wars, fought in four campaigns, were a struggle for hegemony in Northern Italy that ravaged the economy of Lombardy and weakened the power of Venice, whose leaders failed to heed the words of warning in doge Tommaso Mocenigo's famous farewell letter (1423). "Beware of the desire to take what belongs to others, and of making unjust war, for God will destroy you." Location within Italy Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venexia) 45°26′N 12°19′E, the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice in Italy. ... Milan (Italian: Milano; Milanese dialect: Milán) is the main city in northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, the most populated and developed region in Italy. ... The Treaty of Lodi (1454–1455) brought Milan and Naples into alliance with Florence. ... Defensive towers at San Gimignano, Tuscany, bear witness to the factional strife within communes. ... The Napoleonic Era is a period in the History of France. ... Hegemony (pronounced ) (greek:ηγεμονία) is the dominance of one group over other groups, with or without the threat of force, to the extent that, for instance, the dominant party can dictate the terms of trade to its advantage; more broadly, cultural perspectives become skewed to favor the dominant group. ... Lombardy (Italian: Lombardia) is a region in northern Italy between the Alps and the Po river valley. ...

The war, which was both a result and cause of Venetian involvement in the power politics of mainland Italy,^[1] found Venetian territory extended to the banks of the Adda, but involved the rest of Italy in shifting alliances but only minor skirmishing. The shifting counterweight in the balance was the allegiance of Florence, at first allied with Venice against encroachments by Visconti Milan, then switching to ally with Francesco Sforza against the increasing territorial threat of Venice. The Peace of Lodi, concluded in 1454, brought forty years of comparative peace to Northern Italy,^[2] as Venetian conflicts focussed elsewhere.^[3] Adda (anc. ... Visconti was a noble family that ruled Milan during the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance period. ... Portrait of Francesco Sforza, ca 1460, by Bonifazio Bembo: Sforza insisted on being shown in his worn dirty old campaigning hat. ...

The prelude to the first of four campaigns against the territorial ambitions of Filippo Maria Visconti, duke of Milan, was embodied in the pact signed between Venice and Florence, 4 May 1425.^[4] By the agreement the war was to be pursued at the common expense of both: the conquests in Lombardy to be assigned to the Venetians; those in Romagna and Tuscany to the Florentines; and the condottiere Carmagnola was appointed Captain General of the League. In the ensuing fighting seasons (1425-26), Camagnola, recently in the pay of Visconti, retook for Venice Brescia, which he had recently taken for Visconti; meanwhile the Venetian fleet on the Po advanced as far as Padua before hostilities were halted "by means of a legate of the pope" (Machiavelli). Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti, (1392–1447), who became nominal ruler of Pavia in 1402, succeeded his assassinated brother Gian Maria Visconti as Duke of Milan. ... Condottieri were mercenary leaders employed by Italian city-states from the late Middle Ages until the mid-fifteenth century. ... Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola (1390 - May 5, 1432), Italian soldier of fortune, was born at Carmagnola near Turin, and began his military career when twelve years old under Facino Cane, a condottiere then in the service of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, duke of Milan. ... Location within Italy Brescia is a city in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy with a population of around 200,000. ... PO may stand for: Pareto optimality Parole Officer Per os, Latin for by mouth or orally Perfect Orange a third wave ska based in Knoxville, TN from 2002-2005 Pilkington Optronics, now Thales Optronics Pissed off (often used as a verb or adjective, as in POed or POed) Platforma... Location within Italy Tronco Maestro Riviera: a pedestrian walk along a section of the inland waterway or naviglio interno of Padua The city of Padua (Lat. ...

The second campaign (1427-28) saw the single decisive Venetian victory, at Maclodio (4 October 1427); in its aftermath a treaty was concluded in 1428, by which a Venetian governor was established at Bergamo and Crema (1429) in addition to confirming the Venetian possession of Brescia and its contada. Though the Florentines recovered the strongholds they had lost, Machiavelli noted in retrospect "In this war the Florentines expended three millions and a half of ducats, extended the territory and power of the Venetians, and brought poverty and disunion upon themselves."^[5] Maclodio is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. ... Bergamo: Citta Alta View of Bergamo Bergamo is a town in Lombardy, Italy, about 40km northeast of Milan. ... Crema (Italian, cream) is a key component in the flavor of espresso with the appearance of a golden foam on the surface of the coffee. ...

The third war (1431-33) was occasioned by Visconti taking up the cause of Lucca, which was hard pressed by Florentine forces, and sending them Francesco Sforza, who was eventually bought off with fifty thousand ducats. A further military reverse encouraged the Florentines to engage Venice once more and re-erect their League. The Po fleet was defeated at Cremona, but Venice won a naval victory over Milan's puppet Genoa,^[6] at San Fruttuoso on 27 August 1431. On this occasion Carmagnola's inaction resulted in his suspension; recalled by the Council of Ten, he was arrested in March 1432, tried for treason and beheaded oiutside the Doge's Palace. The peace of Ferrara in May 1433 institutionalized an unsteady status quo. The Florentine war with Lucca and her allies likewise resulted in a return to the previous status quo. Lucca is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plain near (but not on) the Ligurian Sea. ... Portrait of Francesco Sforza, ca 1460, by Bonifazio Bembo: Sforza insisted on being shown in his worn dirty old campaigning hat. ... This article is about the city of Cremona. ... Location within Italy Christopher Columbus monument in Piazza Aquaverde Genoa (Italian Genova, Genoese Zena, French Gênes, German Genua, Spanish Génova, Galician Xénova) is a city and a seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. ... The Council of Ten, or simply the Ten, was, from 1310 to 1797, one of the major governing bodies of the Republic of Venice. ... Doges Palace The Doges Palace (Ital. ...

In the so-called "fourth war" broader questions were personalized in the combats among antagonistic condottieri: Gattamelata, and later Francesco Sforza fought nominally for Venice, while the Visconti side was led by Niccolò Piccinino. Piccinino laid siege to Brescia in 1438 and penetrated Verona. Venice's response to this crisis was the famous transportation (1439) of six galleys and other lesser craft, which were hauled overland by teams of oxen from the Adige to Lake Garda, more than 2,000 oxen being used in the unprecedented operation. On the field of Cavriana, Sforza acted as mediator between the two sides accomplishing the act for which Carmagnola had lost his head. No territorial changes were made in the ensuing Peace of Cremona of 20 November 1441, another truce. Erasmo of Narni aka Gattamelata was born in Narni. ... Portrait of Francesco Sforza, ca 1460, by Bonifazio Bembo: Sforza insisted on being shown in his worn dirty old campaigning hat. ... Portrait Niccolò Piccinino (1386 - 1444), Italian condottiere, born at Perugia, was the son of a butcher. ... Map of Italy showing Verona in the north Verona (population est. ... Adige (Italian; Etsch in German) is a river with its source in the region of South Tyrol, Italy. ... Riva del Garda Punta San Vigilio View from Gargnano Lake Garda from space Lake Garda (Italian Lago di Garda) is the largest lake in Italy. ...

Off the battlefields, important dynastic and political changes occurred: Francesco Sforza entered the service of Visconti and married his daughter, while Florence took a new turn under Cosimo de' Medici. After Visconti died in 1447, Francesco Sforza, backed by Lorenzo de' Medici, entered Milan in triumph (May 1450).^[7] Two coalitions now formed: Sforza Milan allied with Medici Florence on the one hand, faced Venice and the Aragonese Kingdom of Naples on the other. The main theater of war remained Lombardy, where both sides joined in the Peace of Lodi (May 1454), a compromise peace that formed the basis for a general accord among the four contenders, Venice, Milan, Florence and Naples, under the blessings of Pope Nicholas V, representing the fifth power in Italy. The peace of Lodi is often marked as the emergence of a consciously expressed political principle of balance of power. Jacopo Pontormo: Cosimo de Medici, 1518-1519 Cosimo di Giovanni de Medici (September 27, 1389, Florence – August 1, 1464, Careggi), was the first of the Medici political dynasty, rulers of Florence during most of the Italian Renaissance; also known as Cosimo the Elder and Cosimo Pater Patriae. ... The Kingdom of Naples was born out of the division of the Kingdom of Sicily after the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. ... Peace of Lodi - A peace agreement signed at Lodi, Italy between Milan and Venice on April 9, 1454. ... Nicholas V, né Tomaso Parentucelli (November 15, 1397 – March 24, 1455) was Pope from March 6, 1447, to his death. ... Balance of power is a central concept of realist theories of international relations. ...

Notes

1. ↑ Venice subdued Verona in 1402, Padua in 1405, and the rest of eastern Lombardy, the Venetian terra ferma ("mainland"), the following year.
2. ↑ See however the brief War of Ferrara (1482–1484) that was settled by the Peace of Bagnolo.
3. ↑ The extension of Ottoman power into the Balkans and in the Aegean had involved Venice in intermittent warfare since 1415.
4. ↑ Florence had been struggling with Filippo Maria, who had enforced his position as trustee of the young Ordelaffi lord of Forlì, by sending his emissary the marchese of Ferrara to take the city by force; the diplomatic breaking point had come when Agnolo della Pergola, Visconti's condottiere, took the fortress of Imola in 1424 and sent its young lord captive to Milan.
5. ↑ History VIV.iii
6. ↑ Milan had occupied the Republic of Genoa since 1421.
7. ↑ after the demise of the short-lived Ambrosian Republic.

Map of Italy showing Verona in the north Verona (population est. ... Location within Italy Tronco Maestro Riviera: a pedestrian walk along a section of the inland waterway or naviglio interno of Padua The city of Padua (Lat. ... Lombardy (Italian: Lombardia) is a region in northern Italy between the Alps and the Po river valley. ... With the Treaty of Bagnolo, signed August 7, 1484, the War of Ferrara (1482–1484) between Ercole dEste I and the papal forces mustered by Ercoles personal nemesis, Pope Sixtus IV and his Venetian allies, came to a conclusion. ... Ottoman (in Turkish Osmanlı) may refer to: Look up Ottoman and ottoman in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe a region of south-eastern Europe. ... The Aegean Sea. ... Forlì, 44°13′ N 12°02′ E, is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, the seat of the province of Forlì. Its 110,209 inhabitants are Forlivesi, because in Antiquity it was called Forum Livii: the legend that would make its founder the consul Livius Salinator, who confronted... Forlì, 44°13′N 12°02′E, is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, famed as the birthplace of the great painter Melozzo da Forlì and of Fascist leader Benito Mussolini (at Predappio). ... Imola (1991 pop. ... The short-lived Ambrosian Republic of Milan (1447 – 1450) was declared upon the death of the last of the Visconti dukes of Milian, Filippo Maria Visconti, in a sanguine moment hopeful of reviving the medieval rights of the comune, and named for St. ...

References

• Niccolò Machiavelli, History of Florence Books IV.i-VI.vi The wars in Lombardy from the Florentine perspective.
• Veneto.org: History of Venice