Ep. 237: How Italy Fell to the Habsburgs - From the Peace of Madrid to the Sack of Rome 1527.

Ep. 237: How Italy Fell to the Habsburgs - From the Peace of Madrid to the Sack of Rome 1527.

From History of the Germans by Dirk Hoffmann-Becking

May 14, 2026 · 36 min · Episode 237

About this episode

This episode explores the final stages of the Italian wars and the impact of the Habsburgs on Italy, culminating in the Sack of Rome in 1527.

We are coming closer to the end of our series on the Fall and Rise of the House of Habsburg. We have seen the reconsolidation of Austria, the acquisition of Burgundy, the inheritance of Spain and today, we will look at the last stages of the Italian wars. This conflict, kicked off by king Charles VIII in 1494 had given “rise to changes of dominions, subversion of kingdoms, desolation of countries, destruction of cities and the cruellest massacres, but also new fashions, new customs, new and bloody ways of waging warfare, and diseases which had been unknown to that time” . Many players of this game had exited stage left and it was now just France and the Habsburgs in various alliances with the remaining Italian powers, who fought for control. The War of the League of Cognac, 1526 to 1530 was when brutality reached its zenith with the Sacco di Roma, the Sack of Rome that brought back the specter of the Vandals. A lot of drama to get through. The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0 . As always: Homepage…

People in this episode

Host: Dirk Hoffmann-Becking

Topics covered

  • Habsburg history
  • Italian wars
  • European conflicts
  • Renaissance
  • military history
  • cultural changes

Keywords

  • Habsburgs
  • Italy
  • Sack of Rome
  • War of the League of Cognac
  • Charles VIII
  • Renaissance warfare
  • European history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: House of Habsburg

Books & works: Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545

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