201 – Spanish Italy in the early 1500’s – Sardinia and Sicily

Episode Overview Having raced through the early 1500s following the Italian Wars, the Medici popes, Leonardo da Vinci, and the creation of the Medici duchy in Florence, it’s time to slow down and look at the parts of Italy we’ve left slightly out of focus. In this episode, we take a tour of the Italian peninsula’s two great islands — Sardinia and Sicily — and the Kingdom of Naples’ wider Mediterranean context. Though often treated as peripheral, these territories were central to Spanish power in Italy and deeply affected by war, rebellion, piracy, and imperial ambition. A Geographic Reset: Italy Beyond the Mainland Sardinia Under Spanish Control Power, Cities, and Administration Stability and Growth A Quiet Role in the Italian Wars Sicily: A More Volatile Island Spanish Rule and Rising Tensions The Palermo Uprising of 1511 A Cycle of Revolts (1512–1522) Leaders and Failures Plague, Piracy, and Temporary Stability Charles V Visits Sicily (1535) Closing Thoughts Sardinia and Sicily reveal two very different faces of Spanish rule in Italy: one relatively stable and quietly strategic, the other restless, rebellious, and perpetually on edge. Both islands remind us that the Italian Wars were not only fought on famous mainland battlefields but also shaped the lives of people far from Florence, Rome, or Milan—on islands that were anything but peripheral. And as always, peace in early modern Italy rarely lasts long.

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201 – Spanish Italy in the early 1500’s – Sardinia and Sicily is an episode from A History of Italy » Podcast.

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This episode was published on Feb 3, 2026.

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