World Timelines - Italy - AD 1250-1500 Late medieval

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Map of Italy - AD 1250-1500 Late medieval


Venice and the East	Dynasts in late medieval Italy	The late medieval papacy	The Renaissance in Florence

Events

AD 1254

Death of Conrad IV; Conradin becomes king of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor

AD 1258

Manfred, illegitimate son of Frederick II, seizes throne of Sicily

AD 1263

Charles of Anjou seizes Sicily

AD 1281

Pope Martin IV and Venice support Charles of Anjou against the Byzantine empire

AD 1282

Aragon takes crown of Sicily

AD 1285

Death of Charles of Anjou and Pedro III of Aragon; succeeded by Charles II in Naples and James in Sicily

AD 1299

Matteo Visconti negotiates an end to the long war between Venice and Genoa in the eastern Mediterranean

AD 1303

Friction between Philip IV of France and Pope Boniface VIII turns into war, the pope is attacked at Anagni, and dies of shock

AD 1305

The cardinals elect Pope Clement V

AD 1308

Start of the War of the Ferrarese Succession between the pope and Venice (until 1310)

AD 1309

Papal residence at Avignon begins

AD 1311

Henry VII is crowned king of Italy in Milan

AD 1312

Henry VII crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Rome

AD 1327

Louis IV invades Italy after papal forces take Parma, Modena and Bologna

AD 1328

Louis crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome, Pope John XXII declares a crusade against him

AD 1339

Simone Boccanegra elected first Doge of Genoa

AD 1354

Florence, Siena, Perugia and Venice ally against Milan

AD 1355

Genoa makes peace with Venice

AD 1356

Simone Boccanegra reclaims his position as Doge of Genoa after leading the expulsion of the Milanese

AD 1376

Florence organises a league in the Papal State and Pope Gregory XI excommunicates the city, beginning the 'War of the Eight Saints'

AD 1377

Pope Gregory XI moves to Rome

AD 1378

Beginning of the Great Schism as two popes are elected, Urban VI in Rome and Clement VII who eventually returned to Avignon

AD 1392

The League of Bologna is formed by Italian cities threatened by Milan

AD 1394

France takes over Genoa

AD 1404

Venice takes over Verona and Vicenza

AD 1405

Padua surrenders to Venice

AD 1406

Florence conquers Pisa

AD 1408

Ladislas of Naples occupies Rome

AD 1409

Opening of the Council of Pisa, which deposes both popes (who refuse to accept the decision) and elects a third, Alexander V

AD 1409

Martin I of Aragon becomes king of Sicily

AD 1417

The Council of Constance elects Pope Martin V: end of the Great Schism

AD 1420

Pope Martin V restores Rome as the papal residence

AD 1423

Florence declares war on Milan (until 1454)

AD 1434

Cosimo de' Medici becomes effective ruler of Florence

AD 1443

Alfonso V of Aragon and Sicily takes Naples, expelling King Rene of Anjou

AD 1450

Francesco Sforza is accepted as duke by the Milanese

AD 1454

The Peace of Lodi ends the long war between Milan, Florence and Venice; they establish a league which is joined by the pope and king of Sicily

AD 1458

The French occupy Genoa; Alfonso V dies and is succeeded by Ferrante in Naples and John II in Sicily and Aragon

AD 1464

Death of Cosimo de' Medici; his son Piero takes control of Florence

AD 1469

Death of Piero de' Medici; his sons Lorenzo the Magnificent and Giuliano take power in Florence

AD 1471

Pope Paul II makes Borso d'Este duke of Ferrara

AD 1479

Lodovico il Moro Sforza takes power in Milan

AD 1480

Lorenzo de' Medici negotiates a peace with Naples, which the pope, Milan and Venice join; the Turks take Otranto

AD 1481

Naples expels the Turks from Otranto

AD 1492

Rodrigo Borgia is elected Pope Alexander VI

AD 1494

Death of Ferrante of Naples; Charles VIII of France claims the kingdom and invades Italy: start of 'Italian Wars'

AD 1494

Republican party, influenced by Savonarola, expel the Medici from Florence

AD 1496

Emperor Maximilian I enters Italy to remove the remaining French

AD 1498

In Florence Savonarola is overthrown and burnt as a heretic

AD 1499

Louis XII of France overthrows the Sforza and claims Milan

Italy

AD 1250-1500 Late medieval

The death of the emperor Frederick II in AD 1250 left a political vacuum in Italy, which was immediately filled with internal strife. Italy’s disunity and wealth also made it a target for outside forces. Bands of hired soldiers roamed the countryside led by condottieri(mercenary commanders). The republican communes of the north gradually fell under the rule of leading families, like the Medici in Florence, or despots.

However conflict seemed only to encourage commercial and cultural life; city states and princely courts provided the setting for the Renaissance (literally ‘rebirth’): a great flowering of literature, philosophy, architecture, sculpture and painting.

In central Italy, the popes, weakened by their exile in Avignon (1305-76) and the ‘Great Schism’ (1378-1417) when there were rival popes, engaged in international politics. In 1263, Charles of Anjou, invited by Pope Urban IV, seized Sicily, establishing an Angevin presence in the south. A popular uprising (1282) gave a prince of Aragon the Sicilian crown; war between the Angevins and Aragonese continued for years. In 1494, Charles VIII of France, pursuing the Angevin claim to Naples, embarked on the disastrous ‘Italian Wars’ that would last for over 60 years, as France and the Habsburgs battled for power in a fragmented Italy.

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