Siege of Florence

Overview

The siege of Florence took place from 24 October 1529 to 10 August 1530, at the end of the War of the League of Cognac. At the Congress of Bologna, the Medici Pope Clement VII and Emperor Charles V agreed to restore the Medici family in Florence. A large Imperial and Spanish army under Philibert of Châlon, Prince of Orange and Pier Maria III de' Rossi surrounded the city and after a siege of nearly ten months, captured it. They overthrew the Republic of Florence and installed Alessandro de' Medici as the ruler of the city.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Siege of Florence, beginning November 3, 1529, was a central episode in the War of the League of Cognac, in which the Holy Roman Empire sought to reassert control over Florence and restore Medici authority against the Florentine Republic. The imperial force was commanded by Philibert of Orange alongside Pier Maria III de' Rossi and Ferrante I Gonzaga, while the republic's defense fell to Francesco Ferrucci and Malatesta Baglioni. The siege represented the culmination of Habsburg efforts to reduce the last significant Italian holdout following the broader imperial ascendancy established by the Sack of Rome in 1527 and the subsequent collapse of the League of Cognac's military position on the peninsula.

Commanders (5)