Rough Timeline of Northern Italy in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

1494 First Italian War (1494-1498) begins as France under Charles VIII invades Italy at the urging of Ludovico Sforza of Milan

1495 Leonardo da Vinci's plans for the Gran Cavallo statue come to an end as the bronze instead is used to make Milanese weapons

1499 Second Italian War (1499-1504) begins as France under Louis XII seizes Milan

1503 Pope Julius II succeeds Pius III as Pope

1508 Pope Julius II forms the League of Cambrai (including the Papal States, France, Spain, and the Duchy of Ferrara) against the Republic of Venice, and the War of the League of Cambrai begins

1509 Battle of Agnadello: the Venetians receive a crushing defeat and only extricate themselves by intense diplomatic work

1510 Due to a quarrel with Louis XII, Pope Julius II changes sides in the War of the League of Cambrai and negotiates a deal with the Swiss cantons for military assistance

1511 Facing the prospect of defeat by France, Pope Julius II forms the Holy League

1512 Massimiliano Sforza becomes Duke of Milan; Fifth Lateran Council opens

1513 Due to a quarrel over division of loot, Venice switches sides in the War of the League of Cambrai and joins forces with France; Pope Julius II dies in February, leaving the Holy League without a clear leader, although it will later go on to win victories against France at Guinegate, Scotland at Flodden Field, and Venice at La Motta; Leo X becomes Pope; Macchiavelli publishes The Prince

1516 Leonardo da Vinci happens to meet Francis I of France after the Battle of Marignano and goes back with him to France, taking the Mona Lisa

1517 Fifth Lateran Council closes

1521 The Italian War of 1521 (1521-1526) begins, and Francesco Maria Sforza becomes Duke of Milan with the help of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor

1522 Adrian VI becomes Pope

1523 Clement VII becomes Pope

1525 Battle of Pavia: Charles V defeats the French and seizes control of northern Italy

1526 Pope Clement VII forms the League of Cognac (with England, Milan, Venice, Florence, and France) against the Holy Roman Empire, and the War of the League of Cognac begins

1527 Charles V sacks Rome

1529 The Treaty of Cambrai ends the War of the League of Cognac

1534 Paul III becomes Pope

1536 The death of Francesco Sforza without any clear inheritors sparks the Italian War of 1536 (1536-1538) between Spain (and the Holy Roman Empire) and France as each attempts to consolidate control over Milan

1537 An ecumenical council decreed by Pope Paul III to take place at Mantua has to be moved to Vicenza due to the Italian War; the Third Ottoman-Venetian War (1537-1540) begins

1538 St. Carlo Borromeo is born; the Truce of Nice, negotiated with difficulty by Pope Paul III, ends the Italian War

1539 Due to an inability to get sufficient participation, the ecumenical council at Vicenza is suspended indefinitely

1542 France and the Ottoman Empire begin the Italian War of 1542 (1542-1546) against the Holy Roman Empire in order to re-establish French influence over Milan

1545 Council of Trent opens at Trento

1547 The Council of Trent is transferred to Bologna; however, in fact, it is never opened there

1551 Henry II of France begins the Italian War of 1551 (1551-1559) against the Holy Roman Empire; Pope Julius III reopens the Council of Trent at Trento, but it will be suspended again the next year due to the political situation

1555 Paul IV becomes Pope

1558 Construction of the Lazzaretto of Milan begins

1559 Giovanni Angelo Medici, uncle of St. Carlo Borromeo, becomes Pope Pius IV; the Peace of Cateau Cambresis ends the Italian War

1561 St. Carlo Borromeo founds the Almo Collegio Borromeo in Pavia

1562 Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent

1563 The Council of Trent closes

1564 St. Carlo Borromeo is appointed Archbishop of Milan by Pope Pius IV; Federico Borromeo, his cousin, is born

1566 Pope Pius IV dies; St. Pius V becomes Pope

1570 After years of raids and small conquests, the Ottoman Empire invades the Republic of Venice and the Fourth Ottoman-Venetian War (1570-1573) begins

1571 Pope St. Pius V organizes the Holy League, which defeats the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto

1575 Venice is struck by the plague

1576 Crop failures lead to famine in Milan; St. Carlo Borromeo goes into debt feeding thousands of starving Milanese

1577 Andrea Palladio begins building the church of Santissimo Redentore in Venice as a votive offering for deliverance from the plague

1584 St. Carlo Borromeo dies

1585 Sixtus V becomes Pope

1590 Urban VII becomes Pope and dies twelve days later; Gregory XIV becomes Pope

1591 Innocent IX becomes Pope and dies two months later

1592 Clement VIII becomes Pope

1595 Pope Clement VIII appoints Federico Borromeo Archbishop of Milan

1605 Leo XI becomes Pope and dies three weeks later; Paul V becomes Pope

1609 Federico Borromeo founds the Ambrosian Library in Milan

1610 Pope Paul V canonizes Carlo Borromeo; Galileo Galilei publishes the Sidereus Nuncius

1618 The Thirty Years' War begins

1621 Gregory XV becomes Pope

1623 Urban VIII becomes Pope

1627 A Milanese edict is passed that makes it illegal for priests to refuse to perform marriages where no legal impediment exists -- it is discovering this edict that will inspire the story of The Betrothed

1628 The events of The Betrothed begin; the War of the Mantuan Succession begins as rival claimants receive support from the opposing sides in the Thirty Years' War

1629 The Great Plague begins first in Mantua (due to foreign armies) but spreading to Milan by October; it is initially kept in check, but not eliminated, by careful procedures

1630 The Great Plague flares up in March, and spreads to Venice, where it will kill nearly a third of the population

1631 The Great Plague flares up yet again in Milan; the Venetians begin building the church of Santa Maria della Salute as a votive offering for deliverance from the plague; the Treaty of Cherasco ends the War of the Mantuan Succession; Federico Borromeo dies

1642 Galileo Galilei dies

1644 Innocent X becomes Pope

1645 The Fifth Ottoman-Venetian War (1645-1669) begins

1655 Alexander VII becomes Pope

1656 The Great Plague reaches Genoa and Naples

1667 Clement IX becomes Pope

1669 Clement X becomes Pope

1676 Bl. Innocent XI becomes Pope and begins an intensive reform of the Papal Curia

1684 Siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Empire; Pope Bl. Innocent XI organizes the Holy League against the Ottoman Empire, thus beginning the Great Turkish War, also known as the Sixth Ottoman-Venetian War (1684-1699), which will free Hungary from Ottoman rule

1685 Milan erects a statue of Federico Borromeo by the Ambrosian Library

1687 Il Sancarlone, a giant statue commemorating St. Carlo Borromeo, is erected in Arona, Italy

1689 Alexander VIII becomes Pope

1691 Innocent XII becomes Pope

1699 The Great Turkish War ends