Giovanni Morosini

Giovanni Morosini was a Milanese writer who was featured in Brazilian's Varna series, who later became the third Captain & Defender of the Ambrosian Republic. Like his father (sadly unnamed), he wrote about the current events during his lifetime, with his most famous extracts published between the First and Second Italian Wars (episode XIV).
== Extract 1: The Rise of the Italic Union ==
"Ten years. Ten years ago, the powers of Mare Nostrum were on the verge of greatness. They had almost defeated the infamous Caliphate. But then, an event shook the Italian Peninsula and beyond.
May 1st, 1517. News reached the Venetian doge's palace about the finding of a chest in recently occupied Crete. Many have debated about what the chest's contents were, and if it existed at all. Nevertheless, the doge made a public announcement, stating that in the chest was a secret treaty between the Neapolitan king and the feared Mamluk caliph. Chaos ensued. The people and armies of Venice alike held an increasingly loud cry for war against the traitors. The doge obliged and declared war.
Many say he then went into his office, writing a letter denouncing the Neapolitans before the League of Varna. What arrived at the desks of the League's kings, however, was a Neapolitan letter, stating that the Venetians were responsible for the betrayal. The Malta Agreement was taken as a lie by most of the Mamluks' enemies. Besides, some of them, notably Milan and Hungary, had ambitions on Venetian territories. Sardinia was the first to join Naples. Italy soon followed, and on May 6th, 1517, the League of Varna declared war on Venice.
History is as ironic as it can be: Venice and the Mamluk Caliphate, natural enemies who swore to achieve control of Mare Nostrum for themselves, were both defeated at the hands of the same diplomatic and military mastermind; King Ferrante I of Naples.
The Fourth Lombard War, as it was called, was a quick one. Within six days the Neapolitan forces crossed the Po and reached the city of Venezia. An angered Venetian population rose up, and the doge's palace was set on fire. When the Neapolitans finally stormed the city, everyone in the palace was dead. Later that day, the Treaty of Venezia was signed, and the Italic Union we know today was born.
The war would only last four more months. A short civil war in Egypt halted the League's advance, but they were no match for the Italic troops landing in Alexandria. The war came to an official close on September 6th, 1517, with the death of the Mamluk caliph.
The fate of the supposed chest in Heraklion? It is unknown; such a chest was never found. Some correlate the lack of evidence with the first action of Naples in the Fourth Lombard War; the landing in Crete. However, they are a minority among the consensus.
This war and its causes, however, echoed through one decade in our peninsula. The two last major wars fought between Italian-speaking countries are sometimes said to be related to the fall of Venice and its consequences. The Italic annexations of Brescia and Ragusa made a feeling of distrust spread across the peninsula. The Fourth Lombard War and its causes echoed through ten years, all the way to our days. Our days, where Italy has been thrown into chaos. As recently revealed, the Italic Union and Sardinia had been planning to invade central Italy for months. However, accusations from the dukes of Urbino and Romagna - which are taken as frivolous by a huge margin - about the true circumstances of Venice's downfall led to a speeding-up of the invasion.
A full decade has already passed by. I can only watch and see what may happen in our peninsula. Will the Italic and Sardinian plan once again succeed, and make their domination inevitable? Or will both empires be stopped once and for all against all odds, only a decade after their rise? Only God knows.
Milan, June 5th, 1527."
== Extract 2: The Sack of Rome and the Holy Roman Election ==
"Chaos. Three months have passed since the beginning of the First Italian War. Europe is in complete disarray. News of the Italic sack of Rome spread across Italy like fire. I haven't received word yet, but it is most likely that Rome has fallen by now.
Additionally, a few days after the outbreak of the war, the Holy Roman Empire's election took place, and the result was a Habsburg defeat after 87 years of rule. While the Protestant electors voted for Austria's candidate, they were outnumbered by the ecclesiastical electorates, who, together with Bohemia themself, voted for Louis I of the Jagellonian dynasty. Allegations of French involvement, especially considering the debt owed by the French king, are bringing tensions in Europe to an all-time high.
Outside of Europe as well, conflicts seem to be taking place. The Anatolian Empire invaded Damascus, and merchants from the Silk Road have told me of a rising "Mughal Empire".
The flames of war keep burning, and will for a long time. I will continue to watch over the developments in central Italy and report them in this very diary.
Milan, September 6th, 1527, 10th anniversary of the ending of the Great Mediterranean War."
== Extract 3: Spring-and-Summer Stalemate ==
"The war in Italy seems to have a clear winner. Six months ago, the Italic Union and its alliance carved up several territories from the falling coalition of central Italian states. Since then, however, there has been little progress. At least there was, until a few weeks ago. The Tuscans had reinforced their defences with mercenaries, drying their coffers to do so, and managed to stop the Italic advance for the entirety of spring and summer. However, King Ferrante I of Naples, personally leading the invading armies, broke the line at the Ombrone river. With that, the entire defence fell down, and now, Italia is at the gates of Siena itself. This war may be coming to wards its conclusion, after over a year.
Milan, October 18th, 1528."
== Extract 4: The Aegean Crisis ==
"On May 6th, 1529, the Italic troops stormed Urbino, bringing an end to the First Italian War. However, the last few months have been as turbulent as when the war was ongoing. The Italic Union was quite unstable after expanding their influence so much. Everything spiralled into one event, which shocked the entirety of Mare Nostrum."The Aegean Revolt broke out in the Greek island territories of the Italic Union, and the latter quickly discovered that the rebels were being supplied by the Anatolian Empire."Uprisings continued to take place across the islands. Italia attempted to quell them, but to no avail."Ferrante then sent an ultimatum to Constantinople, ordering Anatolia to stop supplying the rebels or face war, and the latter took effect."July 24th, 1529, was perhaps one of the most shocking days of modern times. The confrontation between the titans was inevitable, but not a single soul expected it to be this soon or sudden. The war started with Anatolia retaking several islands, as well as attacking Italic troops station in the Cypriot Condominium. The latter counterattacked in Crete, but was unable to muster enough troops in the region to fight in the islands. It soon all came to a stalemate. Reportedly, Italia planned to reinforce Greece with the armies stationed in Romagna. However, they couldn't; those troops were needed elsewhere.
The revolt at Urbino and neighbouring cities shocked the Italic elite. While it was put down rather quickly, the damage was already done: Anatolia had counterattacked in Albania. At that point, King Ferrante had no choice but to accept an armistice. His local fighting capabilities were obliterated, and the country couldn't risk losing more land. The loss of several outposts to Anatolia is seen as the first defeat of Italia, albeit a minor one. But the rebellion in Umbria was more important. During the revolt, the rebels entered the palace of the duke of Urbino. There, they found a letter, addressed to a certain someone.
Meanwhile, here in Milan, the city was in turmoil. The first Captain & Defender was dead. The following elections were very disputed, but the winner was a merchant called Giano Loredan. And the letter was addressed to none other than him. And its contents, whatever they were, would bring a new age of fire over Italy."An Italic declaration of war to Milan marked the beginning of the new year (1530), so it is safe to assume that this last entry was completed on December 30th or 31st, 1529.
== Building a Lombard Republic ==
After the defeat of Savoy in December 1531, Giano Loredan called Giovanni Morosini to his court, to request that his brother Bruno, a veteran from a previous war, come back to the army to defend against the Italic army approaching from Turin. Bruno halts the Italic First Army at Novara, using the Carthaginian tactics of the Battle of Cannae against them and hence completely destroying the army. Then Bruno leads his forces to Turin, and once the city is taken, Giano proclaims the creation of the Lombard Republic. Bruno then moves to take Aosta, Montferrat, and the city of Pavia. When the Italics accuse Pavia of betrayal, Parma and Liguria take Pavia's side, and Giano sends Giovanni to secure a truce with the three states. In return, Giano agrees to show Giovanni the letter he received from the duke of Urbino, and also reveals his true identity as Lorenzo Furlan, the Ragusan fisherman who, in 1523, discovered a box containing the evidence that Naples betrayed Venice and not vice versa. The Second Italian War only lasted another year before the Lombards and Austrians surrounded Venezia, and soon the Second Treaty of Venezia was signed to end the war.