32 - Age of the Condottieri- Mediaeval Italy from 1409-1530 by Oscar Browning

Step into the vibrant world of Italy between 1409 and 1530, a period not only marked by the flourishing Renaissance but also dominated by the formidable condottieri‚Italian captains leading mercenary armies for city-states, monarchs, and the Pope. Figures like Ludovico Sforza in Milan seized control, establishing powerful dynasties, while the illustrious Medici family, epitomized by Lorenzo the Magnificent in Florence, faced challenges in the Papacy. Leo X struggled against Martin Luther‚s rising influence, and Clement VII was helpless to prevent the catastrophic sack of Rome in 1527. Meanwhile, Venice grappled with losing its overseas empire to the Turks, and King Francis I of France, after a crushing defeat to Emperor Charles, found his dreams of Italian conquest slipping away. (Summary by Pamela Nagami, M.D.)