Wars and Soldiers in the Early Reign of Louis XIV Volume 6 Part 1

It was a commonplace that Italy offers little of interest to military historians after the full flower of the Renaissance, and that it had been deservedly forgotten. Italian Risorgimento desperately wanted to repudiate the values of the previous centuries. In place of a politically fragmented and militarily weak collection of small states, in the thrall of Counter-Reformation Catholicism, the 19th century historians dreamed of a united, secular, industrial and well-armed country that could withstand comparison to France, England and Germany. The lack of interest on this period increased even more under the fascist regime, which preferred to elude a period in which Italian states appeared as political entities dominated by foreign interference and focusing on the unreal Imperial myth reworked from the vestiges of the monuments of ancient Rome.

However, in the 17th century Italy was the third-largest country by population in Europe, after France and Germany, passing into second position for a century after 1650. Northern as well as southern Italy constituted a key place in the strategic duel between Spain and France, and the Peninsula lied on the front line in the struggle against the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, Italian states constituted good examples of fairly efficient governance machines, which developed many matters, included the ‘Military’. Some of these states experienced long periods of wars, to the point that the claim regarding social elites progressively demilitarized to an unequalled extent anywhere else in Europe should be considered no longer valid. 

This first part of Volume 6 places Italian political and military within the wider European context and examines the armies of Savoy-Piedmont and the Republic of Venice.

"One of the more prolific of authors, Bruno Mugnai has recently seen the publication of the sixth volume in his superb series covering the ‘Wars and Soldiers in the Reign of Louis XIV’ with the ‘Armies of the Italian States, 1660-1690, Part One’. As is frequently the case, in my opinion at least, this book series just keeps getting better and better with the arrival of each new volume, and this one is no exception....As an admirer of Bruno’s work I wholeheartedly recommend this book as it is a valuable addition to the series, whether for general historical and military research purposes or for wargamers searching for something by way of a different sort of project. I await Part 2 with a high degree of impatience." Colin Ashton, carryingsonupthedale.com

"This is another masterpiece from Helion and gives invaluable information to anyone interested in the warfare and armies of the late 17th Century." Rob Anderson

“Another fine examination of an army in the series concentrates on the Savoy-Piedmont and Republic of Venice troops. All the relevant info for infantry, cavalry, artillery, and specialty troops is exhaustively covered: organization, recruitment, uniforms, weapons, armor, and tactics.” Historical Miniatures Gaming Society