Siege of Mirandola (1551)

Last updated
Siege of Mirandola
Part of the Italian War of 1551–1559
Claude Duchet, La Mirandola.jpg
DateJuly 1551 – March 1552
Location
Mirandola, Emilia, Italy
Result French victory
Belligerents
Mirandola
Kingdom of France}
Papal States
Holy Roman Empire
Spain
Commanders and leaders
Ludovico Pico,
Piero Strozzi
Camillo Orsini,
Alessandro Vitelleschi,
Giovanni Battista del Monte
Strength
400 4,000
Casualties and losses
c. 200 c. 1,800

The siege of Mirandola took part in 1551, carried on by Pope Julius III against the city, which had allied with France during the last of the Italian Wars.

As during the War of the League of Cambrai, the fortified city-state of Mirandola had again allied with France. Like his predecessor Julius II had made in 1511, Pope Julius III in 1551 sent against it an army under generals Camillo Orsini and Alessandro Vitelleschi, along with his nephew, Giovanni Battista del Monte, who later proved inept at military matters. Despite the alliance with the Emperor Charles V and his imperial support, the siege dragged on for months due to rivalry between the papal commanders. Differently from the 1511 siege, the ditches did not get iced, and sallies from besieged knights hampered communications between the four forts built by the besiegers around the citadel.

In Spring, the siege continued with no result, waiting for a corps of Landsknechts to be sent by Charles from Germany. However, in March 1552, a Mirandolese raid surprised the pope's nephew while hunting and killed him. The pope wrote to the emperor that he would abandon the siege.

Sources

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Julius III</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 1550 to 1555

    Pope Julius III, born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 February 1550 to his death, in March 1555.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Julius II</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 1503 to 1513

    Pope Julius II was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, Battle Pope or the Fearsome Pope, he chose his papal name not in honour of Pope Julius I but in emulation of Julius Caesar. One of the most powerful and influential popes, Julius II was a central figure of the High Renaissance and left a significant cultural and political legacy. As a result of his policies during the Italian Wars, the Papal States increased their power and centralization, and the office of the papacy continued to be crucial, diplomatically and politically, during the entirety of the 16th century in Italy and Europe.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">War of the League of Cambrai</span> Fourth & Fifth phase of the Italian Wars (1508–1516)

    The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fought for its entire duration, were France, the Papal States, and the Republic of Venice; they were joined at various times by nearly every significant power in Western Europe, including Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, England, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, the Duchy of Ferrara, and the Swiss.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaston of Foix, Duke of Nemours</span> French nobleman and famed military commander (1489–1512)

    Gaston de Foix, duc de Nemours, nicknamed The Thunderbolt of Italy, was a famed French military commander of the Renaissance. Nephew of King Louis XII of France and general of his armies in Italy from 1511 to 1512, he is noted for his military feats in a career which lasted no longer than a few months. The young general is regarded as a stellar commander well ahead of his time. An adept of lightning fast forced marches as well as sudden and bold offensives that destabilized contemporary armies and commanders, De Foix is mostly remembered for his six-month campaign against the Holy League in the War of the League of Cambrai. He met his end in said conflict, at the age of 22, during the Battle of Ravenna (1512), the last of his triumphs.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles II d'Amboise</span> French nobleman

    Charles II d'Amboise, Seigneur de Chaumont was a French nobleman, who acted as French governor of Milan (1503–1511) during the reign of Louis XII and as a French commander during the War of the League of Cambrai.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirandola</span> Comune in Emilia-Romagna, Italy

    Mirandola is a city and comune of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, in the Province of Modena, 31 kilometres (19 mi) northeast of the provincial capital by railway.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Italian War of 1551–1559</span> Tenth phase of the Italian Wars (1551-1559)

    The Italian War of 1551–1559 began when Henry II of France declared war against Holy Roman Emperor Charles V with the intent of recapturing parts of Italy and ensuring French, rather than Habsburg, domination of European affairs. The war ended following the signing of the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis between the monarchs of Spain, England and France in 1559. Historians have emphasized the importance of gunpowder technology, new styles of fortification to resist cannon fire, and the increased professionalization of the soldiers.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Duchy of Mirandola</span> Historical Italian state centered in modern-day Mirandola, Italy

    The Lordship, then County, Principality and finally Duchy of Mirandola was a state which existed in Northern Italy from 1310 until 1711, centered in Mirandola in what is now the province of Modena, in Emilia-Romagna, and ruled by the House of Pico.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">1549–1550 papal conclave</span> Election of Pope Julius III

    The 1549–50 papal conclave, convened after the death of Pope Paul III and eventually elected Cardinal Giovanni del Monte as Pope Julius III. It was the second-longest papal conclave of the 16th century, and, at the time, the largest papal conclave in history in terms of the number of cardinal electors. The cardinal electors were roughly divided between the factions of Henry II of France, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and Alessandro Farnese, the cardinal-nephew of Paul III.

    Girolamo Dandini was an Italian cardinal and the first to serve as Cardinal Secretary of State in the Roman Curia. By the time of Pope Innocent X (1644–1655), the secretary of state was always a cardinal, and Pope Innocent XII (1691–1700) abolished the office of cardinal nephew in 1692.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Tripoli (1551)</span> 1551 Ottoman siege and capture of Tripoli

    The siege of Tripoli occurred in 1551 when the Ottoman Turks and Barbary pirates besieged and vanquished the Knights of Malta in the Red Castle of Tripoli, modern Libya. The Spanish had established an outpost in Tripoli in 1510, and Charles V remitted it to the Knights in 1530. The siege culminated in a six-day bombardment and the surrender of the city on 15 August.

    The siege of Mirandola may refer to:

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Mirandola (1511)</span> Part of the War of the League of Cambrai

    The siege of Mirandola occurred in January 1511 as a part of Pope Julius II's campaign to keep France from dominating northern Italy during the War of the League of Cambrai. At that time Mirandola was the capital of the Duchy of Mirandola in the Italian region of Emilia. The siege was conducted by Julius after he had broken away from the League of Cambrai and entered into a treaty with Venice.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Maria Ciocchi del Monte</span> Italian bishop and cardinal


    Antonio Maria Ciocchi del Monte was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.

    The siege of Saint-Dizier took place in the summer of 1544, during the Italian War of 1542–1546, when the Imperial army of Charles V attacked the French city of Saint-Dizier at the beginning of its advance into Champagne. After a two-month siege and the stubborn resistance by a small French garrison, the fortress fell to the Imperial army, personally led by Charles V.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Ascanio della Corgna</span> 16th century Italian condottiero

    Ascanio della Corgna was an Italian condottiere from Umbria. He rose to become Marchese di Castiglione del Lago, in part due to his family connections to a Pope.

    The War of Parma was a short war from June 1551 to 29 April 1552 between an alliance of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and the Papal States on one side and the Kingdom of France and the Duchy of Parma on the other. It was part of the Italian War of 1551–59.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirandola mint</span>

    The Mirandola mint, also known as the mint of the Pico della Mirandola, was the mint of the Duchy of Mirandola.

    The siege of Mirandola in 1502 was a military conflict involving Giovanni Francesco II Pico della Mirandola against his younger brothers Federico and Ludovico, who bombarded Mirandola for 50 days. Defeated and imprisoned, Francesco II was released only with the promise of cession of the dominions, then retiring into exile for eight years.