Spanish HegemonyPolitical
Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis
France renounces its claims in Italy, sealing nearly a century and a half of Spanish Habsburg dominance over the peninsula.
Concluded between Henry II of France and Philip II of Spain in April 1559, the treaties of Cateau-Cambrésis ended the Italian Wars that had ravaged the peninsula since 1494. France abandoned its long contest for Milan and Naples; Spain emerged with direct rule over the Duchy of Milan, the Kingdom of Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia, and indirect lordship over a chain of client states including Tuscany, Genoa, and Mantua. Only Venice, the Papal States, and the Duchy of Savoy retained meaningful autonomy. The settlement opened the so-called secolo di ferro, a 'century of iron' in which Italian political life unfolded under the shadow of Madrid's viceroys and the Spanish tercios garrisoning Lombardy.
