Duchy of Milan

Former duchy in Italy (1395–1447; 1450–1796)

Duchy of Milan

Ducatus Mediolani (Latin)
Ducato di Milano (Italian)
Ducaa de Milan (Lombard)

1395–1447
1450–1796

Flag

Coat of arms
(1395–1535)

Duchy of Milan in 1499

The Duchy of Milan in its period of greatest expansion, between the end of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century.

Capital| Milan
Common languages| Lombard
Italian
Religion

| Roman Catholicism
Demonym(s)| Milanese
Government| Princely hereditary monarchy
Duke|

• 1395–1402

| Gian Galeazzo Visconti (first)

• 1792–1796

| Francis II (last)
Historical era| Early modern

• Imperial diploma of Wenceslaus of Bohemia

| 1 May 1395

• Ambrosian Republic

| 1447–1450

• French occupation

| 1499–1512, 1515–1521 and 1524–1525

• Protectorate of the Swiss Confederacy

| 1512–1515

• Habsburg rule

| 1535–1796

• Spanish rule

| 1556–1707

• Austrian rule

| 1707–1796

• Annexation to the Transpadane Republic

| 15 November 1796
Population

• Estimate

| 750,000 in the 17th century
Currency| Milanese scudo, lira and soldo

Preceded by | Succeeded by

|

|  | 1395:
Lordship of Milan

|

| 1450:
Golden Ambrosian Republic
| 1447:
Golden Ambrosian Republic |

|

1500:
Old Swiss Confederacy |
1796:
Transpadane Republic |
Today part of| Italy
Switzerland

The Duchy of Milan (Italian: Ducato di Milano; Lombard: Ducaa de Milan) was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city since 1277.[1][2] At that time, it included twenty-six towns and the wide rural area of the middle Padan Plain east of the hills of Montferrat. During much of its existence, it was wedged between Savoy to the west, Republic of Venice to the east, the Swiss Confederacy to the north, and separated from the Mediterranean by the Republic of Genoa to the south. The duchy was at its largest at the beginning of the 15th century, at which time it included almost all of what is now Lombardy and parts of what are now Piedmont, Veneto, Tuscany, and Emilia-Romagna.[2]

Under the House of Sforza, Milan experienced a period of great prosperity with the introduction of the silk industry, becoming one of the wealthiest states during the Renaissance.[3] From the late 15th century, the Duchy of Milan was contested between the forces of the Habsburg Monarchy and the Kingdom of France. It was ruled by Habsburg Spain from 1556 and it passed to Habsburg Austria in 1707 during the War of the Spanish Succession.[4] The duchy remained an Austrian possession until 1796 when a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte conquered it, and it ceased to exist a year later as a result of the Treaty of Campo Formio, when Austria ceded it to the new Cisalpine Republic.[5]

After the defeat of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna of 1815 restored many other states which he had destroyed but not the Duchy of Milan. Instead, its former territory became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, with the Emperor of Austria as its king. In 1859, Lombardy was ceded to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, which became the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

## History

[edit]

Further information: History of Milan

### Background

[edit]

Main article: Lordship of Milan

The Viscontis' dominions in the 14th century, before the foundation of the Duchy of Milan

The fate of the city of Milan was intertwined since the 13th century with that of the Visconti family, who resumed the policy of territorial expansionism inherited from the city's municipality. One of the first Visconti exponents to lead the Lombard city was Ottone Visconti, elected archbishop in 1262 and who defeated the Della Torre family in the Battle of Desio in 1277.[6]

In the first half of the following century, his nephews and great-grandsons who came to govern Milan: Matteo I, Galeazzo I, Azzone and the Archbishop Giovanni, expanding the area of Visconti influence over the surrounding regions. An equal policy of enlargement and consolidation was pursued in the second half of the century by their successors: Matteo II, Bernabò and Gian Galeazzo. After a period marked by tensions between the various members of the powerful family, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, nephew of Bernabò, came to power with a coup in 1385 and gradually unified the vast family domains scattered across Northern Italy.[7][8] It is said that the territories subject to his dominion earned Gian Galeazzo in one year, in addition to the ordinary income of 1,200,000 gold florins, another 800,000 in extraordinary subsidies.[9]

### Visconti rule (1395–1447)

[edit]

The 1422 Battle of Arbedo for control over Bellinzona

Further information: Florentine–Milanese Wars

The duchy was officially established on 11 May 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the Dominus Generalis of Milan, obtained the title of Duke of Milan by means of a diploma signed in Prague by Wenceslaus of Bohemia. The nomination was ratified and celebrated in Milan on 5 September 1395. Gian Galeazzo Visconti also obtained the license to quarter the Visconti's biscione with the imperial eagle in the new ducal flag.[10][11]

The duchy, as defined in the diploma of 1395, included the territory surrounding Milan, between the Adda and Ticino rivers,[12] but the dominions of Gian Galeazzo Visconti extended beyond, including 26 towns and spanned from Piedmont to Veneto and from present-day Canton of Ticino to Umbria.[13][14] Milan thus became one of the five major states of the Italian peninsula in the 15th century. The House of Visconti had been expanding their dominions for nearly a century, under the reigns of Azzone Visconti, Luchino Visconti, Giovanni Visconti, Bernabò Visconti and Gian Galeazzo Visconti: during the rule of Azzone Visconti, the Ossola in Piedmont had been conquered in 1331, followed by Bergamo and Pavia (Lombardy) and Novara (Piedmont) in 1332, Pontremoli (Tuscany) in 1333, Vercelli (Piedmont) and Cremona (Lombardy) in 1334, the Lombard cities of Como, Crema, Lodi and the Valtellina in 1335, Bormio (Lombardy) and Piacenza (Emilia) in 1336, and Brescia and the Val Camonica in 1337.[15]

The brothers Luchino and Giovanni Visconti added Bellinzona (present-day Switzerland in 1342, Parma (Emilia) in 1346 and several territories in southwestern Piedmont in 1347: Tortona, Alessandria, Asti, and Mondovì. Bernabò conquered Reggio Emilia in 1371 and Riva del Garda in 1380, and Gian Galeazzo greatly expanded Milan's dominions, first eastwards, with the conquest of the Venetian cities of Verona (1387), Vicenza (1387), Feltre (1388), Belluno (1388) and Padua (briefly, from 1388 to 1390), and later southwards, conquering Lucca, Pisa and Siena in Tuscany in 1399, Perugia in Umbria in 1400, Bologna in Emilia in 1402, and Assisi in Umbria also in 1402.[16]

### Ambrosian Republic (1447–1450)

[edit]

Main article: Golden Ambrosian Republic

Bartolomeo Colleoni the condottiere of the Golden Ambrosian Republic notably at the battle of Bosco Marengo

When the last Visconti duke, Filippo Maria, died in 1447 without a male heir, the Milanese declared the so-called Golden Ambrosian Republic, which soon faced revolts and attacks from its neighbors.[17] In 1450 mercenary captain Francesco Sforza, having previously married Filippo Maria Visconti's illegitimate daughter Bianca Maria, conquered the city and restored the duchy, founding the House of Sforza.[18]

### First Sforza's rule (1450–1499)

[edit]

The Venetian republic had not abandoned its desire to expand into Lombardy and therefore entered into an alliance with Alfonso V of Aragon, King of Naples, and with Emperor Frederick III, against Francesco I Sforza and his allies. The fall of Constantinople, conquered by the Ottoman Turks, however, endangered the structure of the Venetian possessions in the Aegean Sea and after 4 years of war the Peace of Lodi was signed in 1454. With this document Francesco Sforza and Alfonso of Aragon were recognized respectively as Duke of Milan and King of Naples, the Republic of Venice extended its dominion up to the Adda and the Holy Italian League against the Turks was concluded.[19]

The political balance achieved with the Peace of Lodi lasted until the death of Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the incursion of King Charles VIII of France into Italy in 1494, except for some Swiss incursions which resulted in the Peace of Lucerne.[20] Galeazzo Maria, son of Francesco Sforza, due to his government considered by many to be tyrannical, was murdered in a conspiracy. His son, Gian Galeazzo, governed under the regency of his mother Bona of Savoy, until his uncle, Ludovico il Moro usurped the throne of the duchy. Ludovico il Moro, son of Francesco Sforza, managed to obtain the guardianship of his nephew Gian Galeazzo and confine him to the Visconti Castle of Pavia, where in 1494 he died in such mysterious circumstances that many suspicions gathered around Ludovico himself.[21]

The battle of Crevola 1487 securing the Val d'Ossola

Relations between Ludovico and Ferdinand II of Aragon therefore deteriorated: Gian Galeazzo had in fact married a niece of the King of Naples, who took the side of the legitimate heir. Ludovico il Moro responded by encouraging King Charles VIII of France to reclaim the Kingdom of Naples, as until 1442 the Neapolitan throne had belonged to Charles ancestors, the Capetian House of Anjou. In 1494, Charles VIII conquered Naples, upsetting the balance between the various Italian states and starting the Italian Wars.[22][23]

### First French rule (1499–1512)

[edit]

In 1495, Charles VIII was expelled from the Peninsula by a League composed of many Italian states, the Holy Roman Empire, the Spanish Empire and the Kingdom of England. Only three years later, in 1498, the Duke of Orléans, who had become King of France under the name of Louis XII, asserted his claims on the Duchy of Milan: one of his ancestors, Louis of Orleans, had in fact married Valentina Visconti, daughter of Duke Gian Galeazzo, in 1389, whose marriage contract established that, in the event of the extinction of the Visconti dynasty, the title of Duke of Milan would go to Valentina's descendants. Louis XII, claiming to be the legitimate heir of the Viscontis, invaded the Milanese state in 1499, driving out Ludovico il Moro. The former Sforza ruler tried in vain to counter the transalpine troops, even asking the Emperor for help, but only managed to briefly recapture the capital and a few other lands. Defeated and taken prisoner in Novara in 1500, he was deported to France, to the Castle of Loches, where he died on 27 May 1508.[24][25]

### Second Sforza's rule (1512–1515)

[edit]

Louis XII remained Duke of Milan until 1512, when the Swiss army expelled the French from Lombardy and placed Maximilian Sforza, son of Ludovico il Moro, on the Milanese throne. Between 1512 and 1515, the Swiss cantons de facto controlled the duchy.[26]

### Second French rule (1515–1521)

[edit]

Under the reign of King Francis I, the French Crown managed to re-establish its sovereignty over the Milanese duchy. In 1515, after the bloody Battle of Marignano, which saw the defeat of the Swiss army, the French sovereign deposed Maximilian and installed himself on the ducal throne. Despite the defeat, the Swiss managed to retain the territories along the road that leads from the Gotthard Pass to the gates of Como (today's Canton of Ticino). The Treaty of Noyon of 1516 confirmed the possession of the Duchy of Milan to the French. Francis I governed the duchy until 1521 when Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, conquered it and raised Maximilian's young brother, Francesco II Sforza, to the ducal throne.[27][28]

### Third and last Sforza's rule (1521–1535)

[edit]

Francesco II, the last Sforza that ruled the Duchy

The French briefly retook the city in late 1524 but lost it again after their decisive defeat in the Battle of Pavia on 24 February 1525, which left the forces of Emperor Charles V in a strong position within the Italian peninsula. Francesco II Sforza then joined the Republic of Venice, the Florentine Republic, Pope Clement VII and the Kingdom of France in the League of Cognac against Charles.

Shortly thereafter the War of the League of Cognac broke out. Fighting erupted in Lombardy between League forces and Imperial forces under Antonio de Leyva, Alfonso del Guasto and Charles III, Duke of Bourbon. At the outset, the Imperial forces besieged Sforza in the castle of Milan. Although League forces attempted to relieve Milan, the Duke of Bourbon arrived with reinforcements on July 5. The League relief army attempted to break the siege lines but failed and on 24 July 1526 the citadel fell to the Imperial forces.[29][30]

An attempt was made to siege Milan by League forces two months later by Francesco Maria, Duke of Urbino. However by that time, additional reinforcements from Spain and Germany had joined Bourbon’s army and Urbino was forced to lift the siege. Milan continued to be held throughout the war by Imperial forces and was returned to Sforza and the Milanese only after both side sought peace and agreed to negotiations which resulted in the Treaty of Cambrai whereby France officially abandoned their claims to their Italian territories, including Milan and Naples.[31]

As part of the treaty, Charles also agreed to allow Sforza to be reinstated as the Duke of Milan until his death in exchange for concessions from Venice. Charles was also influenced by the fact that he did not want to clash with the Venetians, and he knew he didn't have the means to succeed, as the Venetians were concerned that Milan not fall into the hands of foreigners powers, given that they did not consider themselves "capable of occupying it nor proportionate to be able to hold it".[32][33][34]

Francesco II Sforza died without heirs in 1535, opening a new question for the succession to the throne. In this period, to be precise in 1532, Francesco II Sforza requested and obtained from Pope Clement VII the elevation of Vigevano, a city to which his family had always been deeply linked, to the capital of Vigevanasco, after it had obtained in 1530 the title of city and bishopric according to the same methods.[35][36]

### Spanish Habsburg rule (1556–1707)

[edit]

King Francis of France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor both claimed the duchy by making war. The latter, claiming it as an imperial fief upon the extinction of the Sforza, obtained control of the duchy and installed his son Philip II there with an imperial diploma signed in Brussels on 11 October 1540 and made public in 1554. Philip's possession of the duchy was finally recognized by King Henry II of France in 1559, with the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis. The duchy, having lost all forms of independence, was then reduced to a regional state subjected to foreign domination.[37][38]

Under the Spanish viceroys from 1535, Milan became one of the contributors to the Spanish king's army. At the time Lombardy had the most developed manufacturing and commercial economy anywhere in the world, making it a valuable tool for the Spanish military: an armory of paramount strategic importance.[43] In addition to resources, Milan also provided soldiers. During the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), Milan sent and paid for on average 4,000 soldiers per year (and over 100,000 in total) to the Spanish crown, with many of these men serving in the Low Countries against the Dutch States Army.[44]

### Austrian Habsburg rule (1714–1796)

[edit]

With the Treaty of Baden, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession, the Duchy of Milan was ceded to the Austrian Habsburgs. During the 18th century, the surface area of the duchy—despite its unification in 1745 with the Duchy of Mantua, which had strong autonomy from Milan—was further reduced, reaching a much smaller extension than present-day Lombardy.[39] The government of the Habsburgs of Austria was characterized by significant administrative reforms, which the sovereigns of the Austrian house—inspired by the principles of enlightened absolutism—also introduced in their Lombard territories: for example, the rearrangement of the land register, the suppression of ecclesiastical censorship and the development of the silk industry.[40]

### End of the Duchy

[edit]

Following Napoleon Bonaparte's victorious campaign in northern Italy in 1796, the duchy, entrusted to an interim government junta, was ceded to the French Republic by the Habsburgs with the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Already in 1796, the French had established the vassal state of the Transpadane Republic on the territories of the Duchy of Milan, which merged with the Cispadane Republic in 1797 to form the Cisalpine Republic, of which Milan became the capital.[41] After the defeat of Napoleon, on the basis of the decisions taken by the Congress of Vienna on 9 June 1815, the Duchy of Milan was not restored but became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, a constituent land of the Austrian Empire. The kingdom ceased to exist when the remaining portion of it was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1866.[42]

## Historical coat of arms

[edit]

* Coat of arms
* 1395–1535
(Under the Visconti and Sforza dynasties)

* 1580–1700
(Under Spanish Habsburgs)

* 1707–1796
(Under Austrian Habsburgs)

## Rulers

[edit]

Main articles: List of dukes of Milan and List of governors of the Duchy of Milan

## See also

[edit]

* Insubria

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Black (2009), pp. 68–72
2. ^ a b "::: Storia di Milano ::: dal 1201 al 1225". www.storiadimilano.it. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
3. ^ "Milan – History". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
4. ^ "Storia di Milano ::: dal 1701 al 1725". www.storiadimilano.it. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
5. ^ "Storia di Milano ::: dal 1776 al 1800". www.storiadimilano.it. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
6. ^ "I Visconti, Signori di Milano". www.storico.org. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
7. ^ "I Visconti, storia e segreti dei signori di Milano". Connessioni Culturali (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
8. ^ "Ducato di Milano: origini e storia dei Visconti e degli Sforza | Studenti.it". www.studenti.it (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
9. ^ "1300: dalla signoria milanese dei Visconti agli Sforza". Skuola.net - Portale per Studenti: Materiali, Appunti e Notizie (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
10. ^ "Gian Galeazzo Visconti e la nascita del Ducato di Milano". Navigli Reloading (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
11. ^ "GIAN GALEAZZO Visconti, duca di Milano - Treccani". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
12. ^ Black (2009), p. 69
13. ^ Bueno de Mesquita (1941), pp. 174–301
14. ^ Knight, Charles (1855). The English cyclopedia: geography. London.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
15. ^ "VISCONTI". Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
16. ^ Chamberlin (1965), p. 196.
17. ^ Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (Pope Pius II), The Commentaries of Pius II (Northampton, Massachusetts, 1936–37) pp. 46, 52.
18. ^ Cecilia M. Ady, A History of Milan under the Sforza, ed. Edward Armstrong (London, 1907) pp. 56–60.
19. ^ "Francésco I Sforza duca di Milano - Treccani". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
20. ^ "Francesco Sforza | Renaissance Ruler of Milan | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 8 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
21. ^ "Galeazzo Marìa Sforza duca di Milano - Treccani". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
22. ^ "Ludovico Sforza detto il Moro: ascesa e caduta di un principe del Rinascimento". Studenti.it (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
23. ^ "Ludovico Sforza duca di Milano, detto il Moro - Treccani". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
24. ^ "VISCONTI, Valentina, duchessa d'Orleans - Treccani". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
25. ^ "Luigi XII re di Francia, detto il Padre del popolo - Treccani". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
26. ^ "Massimiliano Sforza duca di Milano - Treccani". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
27. ^ "Francésco II Sforza duca di Milano - Treccani". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
28. ^ "Francis I - Charles V, Rivalry, Italy | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
29. ^ Rickard, J. "Second Hapsburg-Valois War or War of the League of Cognac (1526-30)". Military History Encyclopedia on the Web. J Rickard. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
30. ^ Dupuy, R. Ernest; Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History - From 3500 B.C. to the Present (Fourth ed.). HarperCollins Publishers. p. 518\. ISBN 0-06-270056-1.
31. ^ Rickard, J. "Second Hapsburg-Valois War or War of the League of Cognac (1526-30)". Military History Encyclopedia on the Web. J Rickard. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
32. ^ "Francesco I di Valois - Treccani". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
33. ^ "Francesco I e la battaglia di Pavia". www.storicang.it (in Italian). 24 February 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
34. ^ "Cognac, Lega di - Treccani". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
35. ^ "Vigevano". Italia.it. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
36. ^ "FRANCESCO II Sforza, duca di Milano - Treccani". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
37. ^ "Milano, dalla dominazione spagnola all'Illuminismo". www.baroque.it. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
38. ^ "L'epoca spagnola". www.melegnano.net. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
39. ^ "Settecento". Divina Milano (in Italian). Retrieved 17 June 2024.
40. ^ "MILANO NEL SETTECENTO: L'ASSOLUTISMO ILLUMINATO DI MARIA TERESA D'AUSTRIA". www.homolaicus.com. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
41. ^ "Milano napoleonica". digilander.libero.it. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
42. ^ "La Scuola per i 150 anni dell'Unità d'Italia − Gli austriaci − Il governo del Lombardo-Veneto". 150anni.it (in Italian). 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2024.

## Sources

[edit]

* Black, Jane (2009). Absolutism in Renaissance Milan: Plenitude of Power Under the Visconti and the Sforza 1329-1535. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-956529-0. OCLC 368048357.
* Bueno de Mesquita, Daniel Meredith (1941). Giangaleazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan (1351-1402): A Study in the Political Career of an Italian Despot. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* Chamberlin, E. R. (1965). The Count of Virtue, Giangaleazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* About Milan

* v
* t
* e

List of historic states of Italy

Pre-Roman period|

* Etruscan civilization
* Etruria
* Samnites
* Latins
* Osci
* Celts
* Cisalpine Gaul
* Veneti
* Ligures
* Nuragic civilization
* Umbri
* Magna Graecia
* Iapygians
* Picentes

Ancient Rome|

* Roman Kingdom (753 BC–509 BC)
* Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC)
* Roman Empire (27 BC–395 AD)
* Western Roman Empire (395–476 AD)

Medieval
and
Early Modern
states|

| Barbarian kingdoms
(476–774)|

* Odoacer's rule (476–493)
* Ostrogothic rule (493–553)
* Vandal rule (435–534)
* Lombard rule (568–774)
* Duchy of Benevento
* Duchy of Friuli
* Duchy of Ivrea
* Duchy of Spoleto
* Duchy of Tridentum
* Duchy of Tuscia

|

Byzantine Empire (584–751)|

* Exarchate of Ravenna (584–751)
* Duchy of Rome (533–751)
* Duchy of Perugia (554–752)
* Duchy of the Pentapolis (554–752)
* Exarchate of Africa (585–698)

Papal States
(754–1870)|

* Patrimony of Saint Peter
* Campagna e Marittima Province
* Holy See
* Commune of Rome
* Duchy of Castro
* Duchy of Ferrara
* Duchy of Parma and Piacenza
* Duchy of Urbino

Holy Roman Empire
and other
independent
states|

* Bishopric of Bressanone
* Corsican Republic
* City of Fiume and its District
* County of Gorizia
* Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca
* County of Guastalla
* County of Santa Fiora
* Duchy of Guastalla
* Kingdom of Italy
* Ancona
* Ceva
* Finale
* March of Friuli
* Patria del Friuli (Patriarchate of Aquileia)
* Ivrea
* Istria
* Mantua
* Milan
* March of Montferrat
* Duchy of Montferrat
* Trieste
* Turin
* Tuscany
* Verona
* Duchy of Ivrea
* Duchy of Milan
* Duchy of Mantua
* Duchy of Massa and Carrara
* Duchy of Merania
* Duchy of Mirandola
* Duchy of Modena and Reggio
* County of Novellara and Bagnolo
* Principality of Piombino
* Duchy of Reggio
* Marquisate of Saluzzo
* Duchy of Spoleto
* Bishopric of Tarantasia
* Prince-Bishopric of Trento
* Grand Duchy of Tuscany
* Savoyard state
* Savoy
* County of Savoy
* Piedmont
* Duchy of Aosta
* County of Nice
* County of Tenda

Republic of Venice
(697–1797)|

* Dogado
* Domini di Terraferma
* Stato da Màr

Other Republics
(c. 1000–1797)|

* Republic of Cospaia
* Republic of Florence
* Republic of Lucca
* Republic of Massa
* Republic of Siena
* Republic of Genoa
* Republic of Noli
* Republic of Pisa
* Republic of Ancona

Southern Italy
(774–1139)|

| Byzantine|

* Duchy of Amalfi
* Duchy of Gaeta
* Catepanate of Italy
* Longobardia
* Theme of Lucania
* Duchy of Naples
* Theme of Sicily and Byzantine Sicily
* Duchy of Sorrento

|

Arab|

* Emirate of Bari
* Muslim Sicily

Lombard|

* Principality of Benevento
* Principality of Salerno
* Principality of Capua

Norman|

* County of Apulia and Calabria
* County of Aversa
* County of Sicily
* Principality of Taranto

Sardinia
(from the 9th century)|

* Judicates
* Agugliastra
* Arborea
* Cagliari
* Gallura
* Logudoro
* Oristano
* Republic of Sassari
* Kingdom of Sardinia (1324–1861)

Kingdom of Sicily
(1130–1816) and
Kingdom of Naples
(1282–1816)|

* State of the Presidi
* Duke of San Donato
* Duchy of Sora
* Duchy of Bari
* County of Lecce
* Principality of Taranto
* Terra Sancti Benedicti
* Neapolitan Republic (1647–1648)
* Hospitaller Malta
* Gozo
* Malta Protectorate
* Crown Colony of Malta

French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic eras
(1792–1815)|

| Republics|

* Cisalpinia
* Cispadania
* Italy
* Liguria
* Lucca
* Parthenopea
* Piedmont
* Rome
* Subalpinia
* Transpadania

|

Monarchies|

* Benevento
* Etruria
* Guastalla
* Italy
* Lucca and Piombino
* Massa and Carrara
* Naples
* Pontecorvo
* Benevento
* Tuscany
* Elba
* Corsica

Post-Napoleonic
states|

* Duchy of Genoa (1815–1848)
* Duchy of Lucca (1815–1847)
* Duchy of Massa and Carrara (1814–1829)
* Duchy of Modena and Reggio (1814–1859)
* Duchy of Parma and Piacenza (1814–1859)
* Grand Duchy of Tuscany (1815–1859)
* Italian United Provinces (1831)
* Provisional Government of Milan (1848)
* Republic of San Marco (1848–1849)
* Roman Republic (1849–1850)
* United Provinces of Central Italy (1859–1860)
* Kingdom of Sardinia (1814–1860)
* Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1816–1861)
* Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia (1815–1866)
* Papal States (1814–1870)

| Post-unification|

* Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
* Italian Empire (1882–1960)
* Free State of Fiume (1920–1924)
* Italian Social Republic (1943–1945)
* Free Territory of Trieste (1947–1954)

|

* v
* t
* e

Italy articles

History|

| Overview|

* Timeline of Italian history

|

By topic|

* Citizenship
* Currency and coinage
* Economy
* Fashion
* Flags
* Genetic
* Historic states
* Judaism
* LGBT
* Military
* Music
* Name
* Postage
* Railways

Prehistory|

* Prehistory
* Neolithic
* Villanovan
* Terramare
* Rinaldone
* Apennine
* Nuragic
* Golasecca
* Canegrate
* Latial

Ancient|

* Ancient peoples
* Italic peoples
* Latins
* Osci
* Picentes
* Samnites
* Umbri
* Veneti
* Etruscans
* Celts
* Magna Graecia
* Ligures
* Messapians
* Ancient Rome
* Kingdom
* Republic
* Roman conquest
* Roman Italy
* Empire
* Western Empire

Middle Ages|

* Middle Ages
* Italy under Odoacer
* Ostrogoths
* Byzantium
* Lombards
* Papal States
* the Holy Roman Empire
* the Sardinian Judicates
* Arabs
* Normans
* Guelphs and Ghibellines
* Lombard League
* Kingdom of Sicily
* War of the Sicilian Vespers
* Kingdom of Naples

Early modern|

* Italian city-states
* Florence
* Siena
* Milan
* Maritime republics
* Venice
* Genoa
* Pisa
* Amalfi
* Kingdom of Sardinia
* Grand Duchy of Tuscany
* Duchy of Savoy
* Renaissance
* Italian Wars
* Early Modern period
* Napoleonic Italy
* Austrian occupation and Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia
* Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

Late modern|

* Unification
* First War of Independence
* Second War of Independence
* Niçard exodus
* Expedition of the Thousand
* Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy
* Third War of Independence
* Capture of Rome
* Monarchy and the World Wars
* Kingdom of Italy
* Colonial Empire
* World War I
* Fourth War of Independence
* Fascist Italy
* World War II
* Fall of the Fascist regime
* Resistance and Social Republic
* Civil War

Contemporary|

* Republic
* Institutional referendum
* Istrian–Dalmatian exodus
* Economic Boom
* Years of Lead
* Maxi Trial
* Mani pulite
* Coronavirus pandemic

Geography|

* Italian geographical region
* Peninsula
* Climate
* Climate change
* Geology
* Fauna
* Flora
* Mountains
* Prealps
* Alps
* Apennines
* Volcanism
* Volcanoes
* Beaches
* Canals
* Caves
* Earthquakes
* Islands
* Lakes
* Marine protected areas
* National parks
* Regional parks
* Rivers
* Valleys

Politics|

* Constitution
* Elections
* Foreign relations
* Government
* Human rights
* LGBT rights
* Judiciary
* Law
* Law enforcement
* Military
* Nationality
* Parliament
* Political parties
* President (List)
* Prime Minister (List)
* Council of Ministers
* Regions
* Provinces
* Metropolitan cities
* Cities
* Comune
* Municipalities
* Security and intelligence

Economy|

* Economy
* Italian regions by GDP
* Agriculture
* Automotive industry
* Banking
* Banks
* Central Bank
* Brands
* Companies
* Energy
* Exports
* Science and technology
* Southern question
* Stock exchange
* Taxation
* Telecommunications
* Tourism
* Trade unions
* Transport
* air
* rail
* road
* Welfare
* Wine

Society|

* Aristocracy
* Censorship
* Corruption
* Crime
* Demographics
* Education
* Emigration and diaspora
* Gambling
* Health
* Healthcare
* Immigration
* Inventions and discoveries
* Italians
* People
* Languages
* Italian
* Regional
* Life expectancy
* Orders, decorations, and medals
* Poverty
* Prostitution
* Public administration
* Racism
* Religion
* Social class
* Terrorism
* Water supply and sanitation
* Women

Culture|

* Duecento
* Trecento
* Quattrocento
* Cinquecento
* Seicento
* Settecento
* Ottocento
* Anthem
* Architecture
* Art
* Castles
* Cathedrals
* Cinema
* Coat of arm
* Cuisine
* Design
* Fashion
* Flag
* Folklore
* Gardens
* Internet
* Italophilia
* Libraries
* Literature
* Media
* Museums
* Music
* Mythology
* National symbols
* Palaces
* Philosophy
* Public holidays
* Sport
* Television
* Theatre
* Traditions
* World Heritage Sites

* Italy portal
* Category

* v
* t
* e

Spanish Empire

Timeline–immersed

* Catholic Monarchs
* Conquest of the Americas, Asia and the Pacific
* Treaty of Tordesillas
* Italian Wars
* Habsburgs
* Golden Age
* War of the League of Cognac
* Encomiendas
* New Laws in favour of the indigenous
* Expulsion of the Moriscos
* Ottoman–Habsburg wars
* French Wars of Religion
* Bruneian–Spanish conflict
* Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)
* Piracy in the Caribbean
* Eighty Years' War
* Spanish–Moro conflict
* Thirty Years' War
* Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)
* Portuguese Restoration War
* War of the Spanish Succession
* Queen Anne's War
* Bourbons
* Bourbon Reforms
* War of Jenkins' Ear
* Treaty of Madrid (1750)
* Seven Years' War
* Nootka Convention
* Napoleonic invasion
* Third Treaty of San Ildefonso
* Independence of Spanish continental Americas
* Adams–Onís Treaty
* Liberal constitution
* Carlist Wars
* Spanish–American War
* German–Spanish Treaty (1899)
* Spanish Civil War
* Independence of Morocco
* Independence of Equatorial Guinea
* Western Sahara conflict

Territories

| Europe|

* Spain
* Crown of Castille
* Crown of Aragon
* Union with Portugal
* Gibraltar
* Southern Italy (Kingdoms of Naples, Sicily and Sardinia)
* Milan
* Union with Holy Roman Empire
* Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, northernmost France
* Franche-Comté
* Pyrénées-Orientales

|

Americas (Spanish America)|

| North America|

* New Spain (Coastal Alaska, Central United States (Spanish Louisiana), Western United States (Spanish Texas), Florida, Mexico, Central America (Captaincy General of Yucatan), Spanish Caribbean)

|

Central America|

* Captaincy General of Guatemala
* Spanish West Indies (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico)
* Trinidad
* Jamaica
* Haiti
* Aruba
* Curazao
* Bonaire
* Belize

South America|

* New Granada (Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, part of Guyana, a northernmost portion of Brazilian Amazon)
* Peru (Peru, Acre, Chile)
* Río de la Plata (Argentina, Paraguay, Charcas (Bolivia), Banda Oriental (Uruguay), Misiones Orientales, Malvinas)

Asia and Oceania (Spanish East Indies)|

* Philippines
* Micronesia (Caroline, Guam, Mariana, Micronesia, Palau)
* Northern Taiwan
* Tidore

Africa|

* Equatorial Guinea
* Northern Africa (Western Sahara, Spanish Morocco, Tripoli, Tunis, Peñón of Algiers, Oran, Béjaïa, Ifni and Cape Juby)

Antarctica|

* Terra Australis

Administration

| Organization|

* Ayuntamiento
* Cabildo
* Council of the Indies
* Germania
* Santa Hermandad

|

Law|

* Exequatur
* Laws of the Indies
* Papal bull
* Royal Decree of Graces
* School of Salamanca
* Trial of residence

Titles and positions|

* Alcalde
* Corregidor
* Municipal president
* Regidor
* Syndic
* Vecino

Administrative subdivisions

| Viceroyalties|

* Columbian
* New Spain
* New Granada
* Perú
* Río de la Plata

|

Captaincies General|

* Chile
* Cuba
* Guatemala
* Philippines
* Provincias Internas
* Puerto Rico
* Santo Domingo
* Venezuela
* Yucatán

Governorates|

* Castilla de Oro
* Cuba
* La Florida
* Louisiana
* New Andalusia (1501–1513)
* New Andalusia
* New Castile
* New Navarre
* New Spain
* Tierra Firme
* New Toledo
* New León
* Paraguay
* Río de la Plata
* Terra Australis

Audiencias|

* Bogotá
* Buenos Aires
* Caracas
* Charcas
* Concepción
* Cusco
* Guadalajara
* Guatemala
* Lima
* Manila
* Mexico
* Panamá
* Quito
* Santiago
* Santo Domingo

Economy

| Currencies|

* Dollar (Peso)
* Real
* Maravedí
* Escudo
* Columnario
* Doubloon

|

Trade|

* Manila galleon
* Spanish treasure fleet
* Casa de Contratación
* Spanish Road
* Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas
* Barcelona Trading Company
* Consulate of the Sea
* Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
* Commerce Consulate of Buenos Aires

Military

| Armies|

* Tercio
* Army of Flanders
* Free Company of Volunteers of Catalonia
* Indian auxiliaries
* Spanish Armada
* Ships of the line
* Royalists
* Legión
* Army of Africa

|

Strategists|

* Duke of Alba
* Antonio de Leyva
* Martín de Goiti
* Alfonso d'Avalos
* García de Toledo Osorio
* Duke of Savoy
* Álvaro de Bazán the Elder
* John of Austria
* Charles Bonaventure de Longueval
* Pedro de Zubiaur
* Ambrosio Spinola
* Blas de Lezo
* Bernardo de Gálvez

Mariners|

* Christopher Columbus
* Pinzón brothers
* Ferdinand Magellan
* Juan Sebastián Elcano
* Juan de la Cosa
* Juan Ponce de León
* Miguel López de Legazpi
* Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
* Sebastián de Ocampo
* Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
* Alonso de Ojeda
* Vasco Núñez de Balboa
* Alonso de Salazar
* Andrés de Urdaneta
* Antonio de Ulloa
* Ruy López de Villalobos
* Diego Columbus
* Alonso de Ercilla
* Nicolás de Ovando
* Juan de Ayala
* Sebastián Vizcaíno
* Juan Fernández
* Luis Fajardo
* Felipe González de Ahedo
* Francisco de Camargo
* Alonso de Camargo

Conquistadors|

* Hernán Cortés
* Francisco Pizarro
* Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
* Hernán Pérez de Quesada
* Francisco Vázquez de Coronado
* Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar
* Pedro de Valdivia
* Gaspar de Portolà
* Pere Fages i Beleta
* Joan Orpí
* Pedro de Alvarado
* Martín de Ursúa
* Diego de Almagro
* Pánfilo de Narváez
* Diego de Mazariegos
* Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera
* Pere d'Alberní i Teixidor
* García López de Cárdenas

Notable battles|

| Old World|

| Won|

* Comuneros
* Bicocca
* Rome (1527)
* Landriano
* Pavia
* Tunis
* Mühlberg
* St. Quentin
* Gravelines
* Malta
* Lepanto
* Antwerp
* Azores
* Mons
* Gembloux
* Ostend
* English Armada
* Cape Celidonia
* White Mountain
* Breda
* Nördlingen
* Valenciennes
* Ceuta
* Bitonto
* Bailén
* Vitoria
* Tetouan
* Alhucemas

|

Lost|

* Capo d'Orso
* Vienna (1529)
* Preveza
* Siege of Castelnuovo
* Algiers
* Ceresole
* Balearic Islands (1558)
* Djerba
* Tunis
* Spanish Armada
* Leiden
* Rocroi
* Downs
* Montes Claros
* Passaro
* Manila Bay
* Trafalgar
* Somosierra
* Annual
* Mactan

New World|

| Won|

* Tenochtitlan
* Cajamarca
* Cusco
* Bogotá savanna
* Penco
* Mataquito
* Guadalupe Island
* Recife
* San Juan (1595)
* Bahia
* Colonia del Sacramento
* Comuneros (Paraguay)
* Cartagena de Indias
* Cuerno Verde
* Túpac Amaru II
* Túpac Katari
* Pensacola
* Newfoundland
* San Juan (1797)

|

Lost|

* La Noche Triste
* Iguape
* Tucapel
* Guiana
* Curalaba
* Comuneros (New Granada)
* Trinidad (1797)
* Chacabuco
* Boyacá
* Carabobo
* Pichincha
* Ayacucho
* Guam
* Santiago de Cuba
* Asomante

Spanish conquests

* Canary Islands
* The Americas
* Aztec
* Maya
* Chiapas
* Yucatán
* Guatemala
* Petén
* El Salvador
* Honduras
* Nicaragua
* Chibchan Nations
* Colombia
* Chile
* Inca
* Philippines

Other civil topics

* Spanish missions in the Americas
* Architecture
* Mesoamerican Codices
* Cusco painting tradition
* Indochristian painting in New Spain
* Quito painting tradition
* Africanist
* Tapada limeña
* Academia Antártica
* Colonial universities in Hispanic America
* Colonial universities in the Philippines
* General Archive of the Indies
* Colonial Spanish Horse
* Mustang
* Castas
* Criollos in the colonial society
* Old inquisition
* Slavery in Spanish Empire
* Asiento
* Law of coartación (which allowed slaves to buy their freedom, and that of others)
* Great Potosí Mint Fraud of 1649

Cartography

| Cartographers|

* Juan de la Cruz Cano y Olmedilla
* Agustín Ibáñez y Bojons

|

* v
* t
* e

European Middle Ages

Early Middle Ages|

* Migration Period
* Decline of the Western Roman Empire
* Barbarian kingdoms
* Late antiquity
* Decline of Hellenistic religion
* Christianity in the Middle Ages
* Christianization
* Rise of Islam
* Papal States
* First Bulgarian Empire
* Frankish Empire
* Principality of Serbia
* Duchy of Croatia
* Kingdom of Croatia
* Anglo-Saxon England
* Viking Age
* Carolingian Empire
* Old Church Slavonic
* Rise of the Venetian Republic
* Civitas Schinesghe
* Kievan Rus'
* Growth of the Eastern Roman Empire
* Reconquista

High Middle Ages|

* Norman Conquest
* Holy Roman Empire
* Second Bulgarian Empire
* Georgian Empire
* Kingdom of Poland
* Croatia in personal union with Hungary
* Kingdom of Serbia
* Feudalism
* Rise of the Republic of Genoa
* Great Schism
* Investiture Controversy
* Crusades
* Republic of Florence
* Scholasticism
* Capet–Plantagenet feud
* Monasticism
* Communalism
* Manorialism
* Medieval Warm Period
* Mongol invasion of Europe
* Kingdom of Portugal

Late Middle Ages|

* Hundred Years' War
* Wars of the Roses
* Hussite Wars
* Burgundy
* Milan
* France
* England
* Serbian Empire
* Castile
* Western Schism
* Fall of Constantinople
* Rise of the Ottoman Empire
* Swiss mercenaries
* Chivalry
* Renaissance Humanism
* Universities
* Crisis of the late Middle Ages
* Great Famine
* Little Ice Age

Culture|

* Agriculture
* Architecture
* Art
* Church and State
* Cuisine
* Crusading movement
* Dance
* Demography
* Domes
* Hastilude
* Household
* Hunting
* In popular culture
* Itinerant court
* Literature
* Medicine
* Minstrel
* Music
* Instruments
* Philosophy
* Poetry
* Science
* Slavery
* Technology
* Theatre
* Warfare
* Women

Related|

* Medieval anthropology
* Dark Ages
* Disability in the Middle Ages
* Basic topics list
* Land terms
* Medievalism
* Medieval reenactment
* Medieval studies
* Misconceptions
* Neo-medievalism
* Peasant Wars
* Post-classical history
* Timeline
* Historiography in the Middle Ages
* Medieval archaeology

* Portal
* Category
* WikiProject

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* Spain

Other|

* Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
* Yale LUX

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template