Charles VIII of France - The Italian War

The Italian War

For more details on this topic, see Italian War of 1494–1498.

To secure France against invasions, Charles made treaties with Austria and England, buying their neutrality with big concessions. He devoted France's resources to building up a large army, including one of Europe's first siege trains with artillery.

In 1489, Pope Innocent VIII, then being at odds with Ferdinand I of Naples, offered Naples to Charles, who had a vague claim to the Kingdom of Naples through his paternal grandmother, Marie of Anjou. In 1494, Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, was threatened by Ferdinand's successor Alfonso II, and urged Charles to go take Naples. Charles was also urged on by his favorite courtier, Étienne de Vesc. Thus encouraged, Charles imagined himself capable of actually taking Naples.

Charles entered Italy with 25,000 men (including 8,000 Swiss mercenaries) in 1494 and marched across the peninsula, reaching Naples on 22 February 1495. The French army subdued Florence in passing and took Naples without a pitched battle or siege. Alfonso was expelled and Charles was crowned King of Naples.

There were those in the Republic of Florence who appreciated the presence of the King and his Army. The famous friar Savonarola believed that King Charles VIII was God's tool to purify the corruption of Florence. Once the King had ousted the evil sinners of Florence the city would become center of morality and thus the appropriate place to restructure the Church. This situation would eventually spill over into another conflict between Pope Alexander VI, who despised the King in Italy, and Savonarola, who called for the King's intervention. This conflict would eventually lead Savonarola to be suspected of heresy and executed by the State.

The speed and power of the French advance frightened the other Italian rulers, including the Pope and even Ludovico of Milan. They formed an anti-French coalition, the League of Venice. At Fornovo in July 1495, the League defeated Charles, despite losing 2,000 men to his 1,000. Charles lost nearly all the booty of the campaign and had to withdraw to France. His remaining garrisons in Naples were quickly subdued by Aragonese allies of Alfonso.

Over the next few years, Charles tried to rebuild his army, and resume the campaign. But he was hampered by the large debts incurred in 1494–95. He never succeeded in gaining anything substantive.