The Annotated Prince - The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli with notes by Gene Gessert

Italian Status Quo of 1454

Machiavelli’s political career began after the French invasion of Italy, which we will call the Italian War of Charles VIII (1494 – 1498).  The French attack was an imperialistic initiative that overthrew the status quo established in 1454, after the War of the Milanese Succession.

Between 1402 and the 1440s Florence was engaged in a power struggle Milan owing to the expansionist policy of the Visconti.  During this period Florentines viewed Venice (also a “republic” or at least not a principality) as its natural ally.  Venice had a natural interest in opposing Milan because, during this period, Turkish power grew, and Venice, which had to import all its food and raw materials, began an imperialistic expansion up the Po, toward Milan.  The ensuing conflict is known as the Visconti wars (see Najemy p189).

The period of diplomatic alignment between Florence with Venice against Milan came to an end with the death of the last Visconti Duke (Filippo Maria Visconti), and the rise of Francesco Sforza in Milan, who was aided by the diplomatic efforts, and financial support of Cosimo de Medici in Florence. 

The status quo arrangement was the product of three interrelated events:

  1. The Peace of Lodi, which ended the war between Milan and Venice.
  2. The Treaty of Venice, which established (A) a political settlement among Milan, Venice, and Florence, and (B) a balance of power arrangement whereby an attack by one of them would be regarded as an attack on the other two.  The treaty was later signed by the Papacy and Naples.
  3. The Most Holy League was the political mechanism by which the Treaty of Venice was implemented.  It eventually resulted in the establishment of permanent embassies where by the powers gave notice of perceived treaty violations.

The status quo arrangement was the product of three interrelated events:

  • The Peace of Lodi, which ended the war between Milan and Venice.
  • The Treaty of Venice, which established (A) a political settlement among Milan, Venice, and Florence, and (B) a balance of power arrangement whereby an attack by one of them would be regarded as an attack on the other two.  The treaty was later signed by the Papacy and Naples.
  • The Most Holy League was the political mechanism by which the Treaty of Venice was implemented.  It eventually resulted in the establishment of permanent embassies where by the powers gave notice of perceived treaty violations.

During the period of the status quo, i.e., from the Peace of Lodi to the invasion of Charles VII, there were 5 power centers in Italy:

  • Milan,
  • Venice,
  • Florence,
  • Rome,
  • Naples.

These power centers had standing conflicts of interest:

  • Venice, and Milan clashed over the towns of the Po Valley
  • Venice, Rome, and Florence clashed over control of towns in the Romagna.  In theory, the Romagna and the Marche of Ancona, were part of the Papal States. Florence was particularly concerned with Imola and Forli because it controlled its connection to the Via Emilia and thus to the Adriatic coast.
  • Venice and Naples clashed over towns that could control access to the Adriatic.
  • Rome and Naples clashed over effective control of the Campagna, which was dominated by old land-owning noble families (such as the Colona and Orsini), which were known as the Roman Barons.