page_title: Siege of Florence (1529–30)
section_title: Siege
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Florence (1529–30) / Siege
context_page_description: 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 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, overthrowing the Republic of Florence and installing Alessandro de' Medici as the ruler of the city.
  The Florentines had thrown off Medici rule and established a republic after the Sack of Rome in 1527; the Florentine Republic had continued to participate in the war on the side of the French. The French defeats at Naples in 1528 and Landriano in 1529, however, led to Francis I of France concluding the Treaty of Cambrai with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. When Pope Clement VII and the Republic of Venice also concluded treaties with the Emperor, Florence was left to fight alone. Charles, attempting to gain Clement's favor, ordered his armies to seize Florence and return the Medici to power.
context_section_description: The significant progress made on the fortifications, and the delays in the Imperial movement, strengthened the city's resolve to fight. On 5 October Orange resumed his march; by 24 October he had encamped his army on the hills around Florence. The city was garrisoned by some 8,000 soldiers of various kinds. Viewing the Florentine earthworks too substantial to easily take by assault, the Imperial army settled into a pattern of artillery duels and skirmishing with the defenders instead. Meanwhile, the lack of fighting in other portions of Italy drew thousands of unemployed soldiers to the Imperial army, substantially swelling its ranks; the new arrivals included Fabrizio Maramaldo, whose reputation for brutality was such that even Clement opposed allowing him to take part in the siege.
  The promises of aid the Florentines had received from Francis I of France were revealed to have been overstated. Although his sons had been released from Madrid, Francis did not wish to openly challenge Charles so soon. While he did provide some sums of money to the Florentine merchants—money that, apparently, he had owed to them to begin with—he did not send any troops to relieve Florence, as he had promised.
  The focus of the fighting then shifted to the town of Volterra, which commanded the lines of communication to Florence, and whose citadel was still in Florentine hands. The Imperial forces attacked Volterra; the Florentines responded by dispatching Francesco Ferruccio, the commander of the garrison at Empoli, to relieve it. Ferruccio easily overran the Imperial troops; but, defying the orders of the Council of Ten, which called for him to remain in Volterra, he marched back to Empoli with the majority of his troops. This allowed a second, more successful Imperial assault to take place after his departure.
  With the loss of Volterra, Florentine hopes of opening a supply line into the city dwindled, and Florence looked to the arrival of Ferruccio with a relief army, which he had gathered around Pisa. Orange, having arranged that Baglioni would not attack the Imperial forces in his absence, marched out with the larger portion of his army to intercept him. On 3 August 1530 the two armies met at the Battle of Gavinana; both Orange and Ferruccio were killed, and the Florentine forces were decisively defeated.
caption: Portrait of Alessandro de' Medici. Oil on canvas by Jacopo Pontormo 1534–1535. The victorious Imperial–Spanish troops installed Alessandro as Duke of Florence.
exif: {}