Joh. Med Mediolano obseßo, dum desiberant Principes, expediat ne i maenia impreßionem facere, non cunctatus consilium, arrepto vexillo primus per..

Title

Joh. Med Mediolano obseßo, dum desiberant Principes, expediat ne i maenia impreßionem facere, non cunctatus consilium, arrepto vexillo primus per..

Description

View depicting the siege and capture of Milan, with numerous staffage figures. Translation of the title: “John, while Milan was under siege and the princes were still deliberating whether it would be advisable to storm the walls, did not hesitate. He made his decision, seized the banner, and was the first to enter the city through the breaches in the walls. He defeated the garrison and achieved victory.” Engraved by Philips Galle (1537–1612). Designed by Giovanni Stradano / Jan van der Straet (1523/1536–1605). From the series Mediceae familiae rerum feliciter gestarum victoriae et triumphi.

ca. 1583

Artist

Stradanus/ Straet Jan van der (1523-1605)

Jan van der Straet ( 1523 - 1605) Giovanni Stradano or Stradanus was born in Belgium and worked later in Florenz, Italy. Jan van der Straet began his training in his father's workshop and later continued it with Pieter Aertsen in Antwerp. He worked with Francesco Salviati on the decoration of the Belvedere near the Vatican. After his return to Florence, he devoted himself to the decoration of the Palazzo Vecchio and the villa of Poggio a Caiano. Particularly noteworthy were three drawings, distributed as engravings, in which he depicted the discovery of America in 1589, including America.

Historical Description

Soon after 400 BC, the area around Milan was settled by the Celtic Insubrians. In 222 BC the Romans conquered this settlement and used the Latin name Mediolanum. After several centuries of Roman rule, Milan was made one of the residential cities of the Empire in 286 under Emperor Diocletian. In 402 the city was besieged by Visigoths, after which the imperial residence was transferred to Ravenna. In the Lombard League of Cities, founded in 1167, Milan took the leading role. In 1450 Milan fell to the noble Sforza family, who developed it into one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance. In 1492, the French king Louis XII first laid claim to the duchy. After his victory over the Swiss in 1515 at the Battle of Marignano, the duchy was once again granted to France's King Francis I. After Charles V's victory over Francis I in 1525, Milan also fell to the House of Habsburg along with northern Italy. In 1556 Charles V abdicated in favor of his son Philip II and his brother Ferdinand of Habsburg, so that the Italian possessions passed to the Spanish line of the Habsburgs founded by Philip II. In 1714, in the Peace of Rastatt, Lombardy with its capital Milan and the Duchy of Mantua were formally granted to the Austrian Habsburgs. Napoleon conquered Lombardy in 1796. Milan was declared the capital of the Cisalpine Republic. After the end of Napoleon's occupation, at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Milan and Lombardy, as well as Veneto, were again granted to Austria. After the defeat of Austria by the troops of Sardinia-Piedmont allied with France at the Battle of Solferino, all of Lombardy fell in 1859 to the House of Sardinia-Piedmont under Victor Emmanuel II, the nucleus of the then nascent Kingdom of Italy.