Milanese Prelude
Louis XII, like his predecessor (Charles VIII, who died in 1498), had dynastic claims for the crowns of Naples and Milan (he presented claims for the last duchy as a grandson of Valentina Visconti , whose genus ruled in Milan until 1447). Previously, the French king agreed on military assistance with Venice and on neutrality with Florence, the emperor and the pope (the latter saw support in the struggle against the Italian states in France). In 1499, Louis XII invaded the Duchy of Milan and occupied it practically without resistance. Duke Lodovico Moro fled to Tirol, where, with the help of Emperor Maximilian I, he recruited a small mercenary army from the Swiss and in 1500 repulsed his capital, who defended those who had joined the French Gian Giacomo Trivoulzio. However, the French soon gained the upper hand over the Swiss and captured Lodovico Moreau. Lombardy came under the rule of France, and Louis XII proclaimed himself Duke of Milan. On October 13, 1501, the Treaty of Trent between Louis XII and Maximilian I was signed, according to which the Holy Roman Empire recognized all French conquests in northern Italy.
Neapolitan Campaign
Impressed by his quick victory, Louis proposed to Ferdinand an alliance against Naples with the aim of dividing this kingdom. Ferdinand readily agreed, and on November 11, 1500, a secret contract was concluded in Granada, according to which Ferdinand was supposed to support the French claims to the Neapolitan crown, later receiving part of the Neapolitan lands.
In 1501, French troops invaded Naples, and the Spanish Expeditionary Force landed in Calabria. Neapolitan King Federigo surrendered to the victors. By 1502, Southern Italy was divided between France and Spain. At the same time, Cesare Borgia seized Romagna and Urbino, creating a central papal state in Central Italy. However, the two kings quarreled over the booty: Ferdinand’s demand to recognize him as king of both Sicily and Naples led to a war between France and Spain. After the Spanish army, under the command of Gonzalo de Cordoba, defeated the French in the battle of Cerignola and the battle of Garigliano in 1503, Louis had to return to Lombardy.
Results of the war
On January 31, 1504, Louis and Ferdinand signed a peace treaty in Blois, according to which France recognized the Kingdom of Naples as a possession of Spain, but retained Lombardy and Genoa. As a result, southern Italy came under the authority of the Spanish king, the hegemony of France remained in northern, and the power of the pope was restored in Central Italy.
Also, the state that benefited from this war was Venice, which after the fall of Milan received significant territories of Lombardy, Naples, and a number of ports of Apulia.
