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Having inherited a vague claim to the [[kingdom of Naples]] through his paternal grandmother, [[Marie of Anjou]], and encouraged by [[Ludovico Sforza]], [[Duke of Milan]], he imagined himself capable of seizing that realm, and he thereupon set France's resources toward that goal, starting the [[Italian Wars]]. He contracted several unfavourable treaties with [[Austria]] and [[England]], in order to free himself of distractions, and then commenced a massive buildup of forces. He entered [[Italy]] in [[1494]] and marched across the peninsula, reaching Naples on [[February 22]], [[1495]].
{{House of Valois}}▼
Expelled [[Alfonso II of Naples]] and crowned king of Naples in his lieu, Charles then found himself the subject of an opposing coalition from the [[League of Venice]], involving that republic with [[Austria]], the [[Papal States|Papacy]], the same Ludovico Sforza and other Italian states. Partially defeated at [[Battle of Fornovo|Fornovo]] in July 1495, he escaped to France at the cost of the loss of most of his forces, leaving in the Kingdom Naples only small garrisons which were later overrun easily by the Aragonese. He attempted in the next few years to rebuild his army, but was hampered by the serious debts incurred by the previous one. He never succeeded in recouping anything substantive. He died two-and-a-half years after his retreat, of an accident: striking himself on the head while passing through a doorway, he succumbed to a sudden coma several hours later.▼
▲Expelled [[Alfonso II of Naples]] and crowned king of Naples in his lieu, Charles then found himself the subject of an opposing coalition from the [[League of Venice]], involving that republic with [[Austria]], the [[Papal States|Papacy]], the same Ludovico Sforza and other Italian states. Partially defeated at [[Battle of Fornovo|Fornovo]] in July 1495, he escaped to France at the cost of the loss of most of his forces, leaving in the Kingdom Naples only small garrisons which were later overrun easily by the Aragonese. He attempted in the next few years to rebuild his army, but was hampered by the serious debts incurred by the previous one. He never succeeded in recouping anything substantive. He died two-and-a-half years after his retreat, of an accident: striking himself on the head while passing through a doorway, he succumbed to a sudden coma several hours later.
▲{{House of Valois}}
Charles bequeathed a meagre legacy: he left France in debt and in disarray as a result of an ambition most charitably characterized as unrealistic. On a more positive side, his expedition did broach contacts between French and Italian [[Humanism|humanist]]s, energizing French art and letters in the latter part of the [[Renaissance]].
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