EPISODE · Jun 3, 2026 · 10 MIN
The Peace of Lodi: How a 15th-Century Treaty Invented Modern Diplomacy
from The Story of Italy: Rome, Renaissance, and the Birth of Modern Europe — Fexingo History · host Fexingo
In 1454, the Italian city-states were locked in a cycle of mercenary wars and shifting alliances. Then something remarkable happened: they signed a peace that lasted 40 years. This episode explores the Peace of Lodi (1454) and the Italic League that followed — not as a dry diplomatic footnote, but as the real birthplace of modern diplomacy, with resident ambassadors, balance-of-power politics, and a golden age of art funded by peace. Lucas and Luna unpack how Francesco Sforza, Cosimo de' Medici, and Pope Nicholas V turned war-weary rivals into a stable system, and why the French invasion of 1494 shattered it all. Expect details on the Sforza rise, Milan-Venice rivalry, the Congress of Mantua, and the fragile genius of Renaissance statecraft. #PeaceOfLodi #ItalicLeague #FrancescoSforza #CosimoDeMedici #RenaissanceDiplomacy #PopeNicholasV #Milan #Venice #Florence #Naples #BalanceOfPower #Condottieri #Quattrocento #ItalianRenaissance #Lodi1454 #FexingoHistory #History #Diplomacy Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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The Peace of Lodi: How a 15th-Century Treaty Invented Modern Diplomacy
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