Battle of Fornovo
| Battle of Fornovo | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the First Italian War | |||||||
Bataille de Fornoue, 6 juillet 1495 (oil on canvas by Éloi Firmin Féron, 1837) depicts king Charles VIII on the left and Bayard on the right. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| France |
League of Venice: Republic of Venice Duchy of Milan Margraviate of Mantua | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| King Charles VIII | Francesco Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Stradioti | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 10,000–11,000 men | 20,000–21,500 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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Fornovo di Taro, now a comune (municipality) in the province of Parma | |||||||
The Battle of Fornovo took place 30 km (19 miles) southwest of the city of Parma on 6 July 1495. It was fought as King Charles VIII of France left Naples upon hearing the news of the grand coalition assembled against him. Despite the numerical advantage of their opponents, the French won the engagement and Charles was able to march his army out of Italy. It was nonetheless devoid of any strategic result as all of their conquests in the Italian Peninsula were abandoned. Fornovo was the first major pitched battle of the Italian Wars.