passed to the north in tuscanized form and had an im-
mense influence (see DOLCE STIL NUOVO). In Umbria, St.
Francis and Jacopone da Todi inspired the writing of reli-
gious verse, such as the Laudes creaturarum (or Cantico
di Frate Sole), by St. Francis (c. 1225). By the end of the
13th century, there is an awareness of Tuscan primacy in
vernacular usage; the prestige of the socalled Tre Corone,
DANTE, PETRARCH, and BOCCACCIO, eventually assured
Tuscan, and Florentine, preeminence.
A temporary setback occurred in the first half of the
14th century, however, when humanist devotion to Latin
radically depreciated the vernacular in all fields of learn-
ing. But the vernacular foundations were strong and the
15th century saw the triumph of a vernacular humanism
cultivated by ALBERTI, POLITIAN, Lorenzo de’ MEDICI, and
others. Printing (from 1470), in which the earliest priori-
ties were the works of Petrarch, Boccaccio, and Dante (in
that order), in time assisted in standardizing the language.
Pietro BEMBO’s Prose della volgar lingua (1525) and the
founding of the Accademia della Crusca (1582) mark the
final stages in resolving the QUESTIONE DELLA LINGUAand
establishing the standard embodied in the Cruscan Vo -
cabolario (1612).
In speech, though Italian has now gained ground and
dialects are becoming increasingly italianized, an extreme
diversity persists that is due to the historical fragmenta-
tion of Italy and the lack of a centralizing impetus (before
unification in 1861) able to counterbalance the civic pride
of the urban centers. (It has even been suggested that
Venice produced no substantial body of literature out of
pique at the preference for Tuscan over her own dialect.)
In De vulgari eloquentia (c. 1303) Dante listed major di-
alect groups, noting further differences within them (as
between Siena and Arezzo in Tuscany) and even between
districts of a city. The present picture is scarcely less com-
plex, with up to four levels of usage occurring in one area
(Italian for writing and a regional variety with two local
dialects as well for spoken use in certain circumstances).
The dialects may vary greatly, Piedmontese and Sardinian,
for example, having less in common than Spanish and
Portuguese. Recently over 200 concepts or things sur-
veyed in a study of 54 Italian regions produced only one
item known to all informants by the same word (espresso);
for other items, between two and 13 different words or ex-
pressions were used. In such conditions, the establish-
ment of a standard language at the end of the Renaissance
was an achievement of unique and lasting importance.Italy, Wars of (1494–1559) A series of conflicts that in-
volved most Italian states, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire,
France, and Switzerland. They began with CHARLES VIII’s
triumphal invasion and coronation in Naples (1494–95),
which was followed by the expulsion of France from
Naples by Spain and its Italian allies (1496). In the second
French invasion LOUIS XIItook Milan and tried to regain
Naples. Initially he cooperated with FERDINAND II of
Aragon, but the Aragonese later expelled the French from
southern Italy (1504).
The conflict continued when Emperor MAXIMILIAN I
joined Pope JULIUS II, some other Italian states, France,
and Spain in the League of CAMBRAIagainst Venice (1508);
quarrels over the spoils then led to the formation of the
anti-French HOLY LEAGUEin 1511. The Swiss entered the
wars and forced Louis XII out of Milan, which his succes-
sor, FRANCIS I, regained after his victory at Marignano
(1515).
In the relatively quiet period that followed, both Fer-
dinand (1516) and Maximilian (1519) died. War resumed
in the 1520s in the wider context of the European strug-
gle between the Hapsburgs under CHARLES Vand the Val-
ois under Francis I. At the battle of PAVIA(1525) Charles
V defeated and captured Francis I, who had to renounce
his Italian claims. In the anti-Hapsburg reaction that fol-
lowed, France, the papacy, and other Italian states formed
the League of Cognac against Charles. The notorious Sack
of ROME(1527) by imperial troops followed. By 1529 sev-
eral setbacks compelled Francis I again to surrender his
Italian claims in the treaties of Barcelona and Cambrai.
The last phase of the wars (1529–59) saw limited foreign
involvement in Italy and ended with France’s final renun-
ciation of its Italian claims in the treaty of CATEAU-
CAMBRÉSIS(1559).22556 6 IIttaallyy,, WWaarrss ooff