The Battles

The wars of Succession between Mantua and Monferrato saw the Savoy army deployed against the Spanish troops. Monferrato was a fundamental strategic corridor that connected the Spanish dominated territories in Italy with the Hapsburg territories in Germany. In 1559 the Gonzaga family, dukes of Mantua, took possession of Monferrato for the Spanish. But in 1612, upon the death of Franceso IV Gonzaga, Carlo Emanuele I tried to reoccupy the area, leading to the first war at Monferrato, which was concluded with the ‘Pace di Parigi’ (peace treaty) in 1617. In 1627 a second war broke out at Monferrato, more bloody and cruel than the first as it was fought between Spain, the Duke of Savoy and France. Upon the death of Carlo Emanuele I in 1630, his son Vittorio Amadeo I continued the war. In the ‘salone d’onore’ in Palazzo Taffini we can see the Duke of Savoy at the battle of Crevacuore (above is an illustration of the city of Turin), the taking of Moncalvo (Trino Vercellese), the siege of Verrua Savoia (Asti), the conquest of the Parish of Oneglia (Sant’Ospizio), the battle of Tornavento (Breme), and finally the battle of Mombaldone (Alba) in 1637, where the Savoy troops finally won the day.