Editing Philip II of Spain (section)

===Italy===
{{Main|Italian Wars}}
Charles V abdicated the [[Kingdom of Naples|throne of Naples]] to Philip on 25 July 1554, and the young king was invested with the kingdom (officially a Papal fief) on 2 October by [[Pope Julius III]]. The date of Charles' abdication of the [[Kingdom of Sicily|throne of Sicily]] is uncertain, but Philip was invested with this kingdom on 18 November 1554 by Julius.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Braudel |first=Fernand |author-link=Fernand Braudel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LPp63EKb9moC&pg=PA935 |pages=935–936 |title=The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II |volume=2 |date=1995 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-20330-3 |language=en}}</ref> In 1556, Philip decided to invade the [[Papal States]] and temporarily held territory there, perhaps in response to [[Pope Paul IV]]'s anti-Spanish outlook. According to Philip II, he was doing it for the benefit of the [[Catholic Church|Church]].

In a letter to the Princess Dowager of Portugal, Regent of the Spanish kingdoms, dated 22 September 1556, [[Francisco de Vargas y Mexia|Francisco de Vargas]] wrote:
{{quote|I have reported to your Highness what has been happening here, and how far the Pope is going in his fury and vain imaginings. His Majesty could not do otherwise than have a care for his reputation and dominions. I am sure your Highness will have had more recent news from the Duke of Alva, who has taken the field with an excellent army and has penetrated so far into the Pope's territory that his cavalry is raiding up to ten miles from Rome, where there is such panic that the population would have run away had not the gates been closed. The Pope has fallen ill with rage, and was struggling with a fever on the 16th of this month. The two Carafa brothers, the Cardinal and Count Montorio, do not agree, and they and Piero Strozzi are not on as good terms as they were in the past. They would like to discuss peace. The best thing would be for the Pope to die, for he is the poison at the root of all this trouble and more which may occur. His Majesty's intention is only to wrest the knife from this madman's hand and make him return to a sense of his dignity, acting like the protector of the [[Holy See|Apostolic See]], in whose name, and that of the [[College of Cardinals]], his Majesty has publicly proclaimed that he has seized all he is occupying. The Pope is now sending again to the potentates of Italy for help. I hope he will gain as little thereby as he has done in the past, and that the French will calm down. May God give us peace in the end, as their Majesties desire and deserve!<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/vol13/pp275-280|title=Spain: September 1556|editor=Royall Tyler |publisher=Institute of Historical Research|year=1954|work=Calendar of State Papers, Spain |volume=Vol. 13: 1554–1558|access-date=19 April 2013}}</ref>}}

In response to the invasion, [[Pope Paul IV]] called for a French military intervention. After minor fights in Lazio and near Rome, [[Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba]], Viceroy of Naples met Cardinal [[Carlo Carafa]] and signed the Treaty of [[Cave, Lazio|Cave]] as a compromise: French and Spanish forces left the [[Papal States]] and the Pope declared a neutral position between France and the Spanish kingdoms.<ref name="fiuRebiba">{{cite web|url=http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1555-ii.htm|access-date=21 April 2010|title=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church|author=Salvador Miranda|year=2010|publisher=[[Florida International University]]|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175609/http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1555-ii.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Philip led the Spanish kingdoms into the final phase of the [[Italian Wars]]. A Spanish advance into France from the Low Countries led to their important victory at the [[Battle of St. Quentin (1557)]]. The French were defeated again at the [[Battle of Gravelines (1558)]]. The resulting [[Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis]] in 1559 secured [[Piedmont]] to the [[Duchy of Savoy]], and [[Corsica]] to the [[Republic of Genoa]]. Both Genoa and Savoy were allies of Spain and, although Savoy subsequently declared its neutrality between France and Spain, Genoa remained a crucial financial ally for Philip during his entire reign. The treaty also confirmed Philip's control over [[Duchy of Milan|Milan]], Naples, Sicily, and [[Kingdom of Sardinia|Sardinia]]. Therefore, all of southern Italy was under Spanish rule as part of the [[Crown of Aragon]]. In the north, Milan was a duchy of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] held by Philip. Attached to the Kingdom of Naples, the [[State of Presidi]] in Tuscany gave Philip the possibility to monitor maritime traffic to southern Italy, whilst the grant of the Duchy of Siena to the new [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany]], ensured it would remain a Spanish ally. The [[Council of Italy]] was set up by Philip in order to co-ordinate his rule over the states of Milan, Naples and Sicily. Ultimately, the treaty ended the 60-year [[French-Habsburg rivalry|Franco-Habsburg wars]] for supremacy in Italy. It marked also the beginning of a period of peace between the Pope and Philip, as their European interests converged, although political differences remained and diplomatic contrasts eventually re-emerged.

By the end of the wars in 1559, [[Habsburg Spain]] had been established as the premier power of Europe, to the detriment of France. In France, [[Henry II of France|Henry II]] was fatally wounded in a joust held during the celebrations of the peace. His death led to the accession of his 15-year-old son [[Francis II of France|Francis II]], who in turn soon died. The French monarchy was thrown into turmoil, which increased further with the outbreak of the [[French Wars of Religion]] that would last for several decades. The states of Italy were reduced to second-rate powers, with Spain dominating the peninsula. Mary Tudor's death in 1558 enabled Philip to seal the treaty by marrying Henry II's daughter, [[Elisabeth of Valois]], later giving him a claim to the throne of France on behalf of his daughter by Elisabeth, [[Isabella Clara Eugenia]].