Vittorio Amedeo, his son and successor, signed a peace by which he obtained the greater part of Monferrato, but ceded Pineolo to France, which thus once again got a foothold in Italy. The Prime Minister of France, Car dinal Richelieu, succeeded anew in forming a league against Spain, which was joined by the dukes of Savoy, Mantua and Parma. The war had scarcely begun when Vittorio Amedeo died (1637). His widow, Maria Christina, called Madame Royale, assumed the regency in the name of her son; but her cousins, Cardinal Maurizio and Prince Tommaso, wished to be associated with her in the government, and to this end they sought the aid of Spain. The Duchess, in her turn, had recourse to France, and thus Piedmont was once more traversed and devastated by Spanish and French soldiery. At length the princes of Savoy perceived that foreign powers were taking advantage of their dissensions for their own profit, and thought it best to come to an agreement among themselves.
In the second half of the 16th century Ven ice was apparently at the zenith of her power and prosperity, and her great painters, Titian, Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese, etc., by their chef d'anivres proclaimed her triumph to the world. In reality, however, she was depending on the wealth gathered in the past. Her power was already seriously threatened. In 1570 the Turks attacked Cyprus, and notwithstanding the long and glorious resistance of the Venetian troops, they succeeded in taking possession of the whole island. The Christian League, formed at that time through the zeal of Pope Pius V, armed a great fleet which gained the memorable victory of Lepanto over the Turks in 1571; but the results were meagre on account of the jeal ousy between the allied powers.
The republic, while professing zeal in re ligious matters, had always upheld the rights of the state in opposition to those of the Church. On that account it waged a lively dis pute with Pope Paul V, who, annoyed at seeing his demands disregarded, excommunicated the republic (1606). Venice commanded the priests to continue the exercise of their worship under penalty of bein banished from the territory, and almost all o ed. Finally, through the in z terposition of theking of France, the Pope and the republic came to an agreement.
From now on, Venice became even less in terested in Italian affairs, and in the Orient she sought only to defend against the Turks her farthest possessions. After a long war Candia passed under the dominion of the Turks. In 1684 Venice again took arms against the Turks, having as allies the emperor and the king of Poland. Her great general, Francesco Morosini, conquered at that time the Peloponnesus, but on his death (1694) the era of the great Doges of Venice came to an end. Twenty years later the Peloponnesus again came under the power of the Turks.
Spanish domination in Italy lasted until the first years of the 18th century, and left sad traces behind it. No government ever took less care of its subjects than the Spanish govern ment, which looked upon Italian provinces as lands that they might despoil, but not govern.
The taxes became daily more intolerable, and the income which the government received from them was not disbursed for the advantage of those who paid them, but went to enrich the viceroys sent to Italy, to maintain the pomp of the court of Spain, and the enormous expenses of the wars which this power had to. carry on in many parts of the world. There were fre quent insurrections, notably that of Naples (1647) which is associated with the name of a young fisherman, Masaniello; but the govern ment always succeeded in suppressing them by temporary concessions which did not alter the true condition of affairs.
Contested Predominance Between France and Austria (1700-1789).--- The death of the king of Spain, Charles II (1700), and the war of the succession precipitated a long war be tween the French dynasty of the Bourbons and the German House of Hapsburg, supported by England and Holland. The Imperialists sought to retain possession of the territory which Spain had in Italy; hence, the war was carried on largely in the Italian peninsula. The Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus II, was at first sup ported by the Bourbons, but when they under stood their own interests better they went over to the Imperial army. Then Piedmont was in vaded and traversed in every direction by the French, who ended by laying siege to Turin (1706). Among the many glorious episodes during its defense is that relating to a private of the Miners, Pietro Micca, who at the sacri fice of his life saved the citadel from a noctur nal surprise assault. On 7 Sept. 1706, Duke Victor Amadeus II joined his troops to those under the command of Prince Eugene, and gained a great victory under the walls of Turin, in consequence of which the French were obliged to vacate Piedmont and the rest of Italy. By the Peace of Utrecht Sicily was given to Victor Amadeus II, who assumed the title of king. Sardinia, Naples and Lombardy were yielded to Austria. But a few years later the Italian Cardinal Giulio Alberoni, who had become Prime Minister to the king of Spain, attempted to regain possession of Sardinia and Sicily; but being threatened by the prin cipal powers of Europe, the king of Spain retired his fleet and discharged his minister. Austria profited by this opportunity by compel ling Victor Amadeus II to exchange Sicily for Sardinia (1720). Austria, however, did not long retain Sicily and Naples; for one of the sons of the king of Spain, Charles of Bourbon, taking advantage of the War of Succession in Poland which upset all Europe, seized these territories and founded the Bourbon Neapolitan dynasty (1734). To make up for this loss the Emperor Charles VI received the duchy of Parma and Piacenza, in which the Farnesi dynasty was extinct; and on the extinction of the House of Medici (1737) he assigned the grand duchy of Tuscany to Francis of raine, husband of his daughter Maria Teresa.