Alda Pio Gambara and regime change in Brescia during the Italian Wars

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (peer-reviewed)peer-review

Abstract / Description of output

The deep social and political fault lines running through Brescia were catastrophically exposed during the War of the League of Cambrai (1508–1516), when dominion over the city and its territory passed among a variety of regimes: Venice, France, the Empire, and Spain. These episodes of regime change may be illuminated by the archive of one leading feudal family, the Gambara, and especially by the correspondence of Alda Pio Gambara. During this period Alda worked to ensure her husband and his company were fitted for war but she also supported French power and battled with the Venetians and their local supporters to prevent regime change. Alda’s letters show what regime change could mean for elite women, from the mobilization of household staff and recalcitrant peasants to the arts of informal diplomacy to promote family power and honor. Consequently, this chapter contributes to knowledge of the relationship between states and armies, social orders, and political power in regime change, and also offers a corrective to narratives of the Italian Wars, which focus on relationships between political centers and peripheries.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Culture and Politics of Regime Change in Italy, c.1494-c.1559
EditorsAlexander Lee, Brian Jeffrey Maxson
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherRoutledge
Chapter9
Pages190-208
Number of pages19
Edition1st
ISBN (Electronic)9781003199021
ISBN (Print)9781032057552
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Sept 2022

Publication series

NameRoutledge Research in Early Modern History
PublisherRoutledge

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