Andrea Gritti

The newly arrived Imperial governors had quickly proved to be unpopular, however.

The citizens of Padua, aided by detachments of Venetian cavalry under the command of the provveditore (overseer) Andrea Gritti, revolt in mid-July.

The landsknechts garrisoning the city are too few in number to mount effective resistance, and on July 17 Padua is restored to Venetian control.

The success of the revolt finally pushes Maximilian into action.

This apparent reconciliation between Venice and the Pope does not stop the French from again invading the Veneto in March.

Pitigliano's death in January has left Andrea Gritti in command of the Venetian forces; although Maximilian fails to reinforce Louis, the French army is nonetheless sufficient to drive the Venetians from Vicenza by May.

Gritti garrisons Padua for an expected attack by a combined Franco-Imperial army, but Louis, more concerned by the death of his advisor, the Cardinal d'Amboise, abandons his plans for a siege.

Julius, meanwhile, has become increasingly concerned by the growing French presence in Italy; more significantly, alienated from Alfonso d'Este by friction over a license for a salt monopoly in the Papal states and Alfonso's continued forays against Venetian forces to secure his recently reacquired Polesine, he had formulated plans to seize the Duchy of Ferrara, a French ally, and to add its territory to the Papal States.

His own forces being inadequate for the venture, the Pope hires an army of Swiss mercenaries, ordering them to attack the French in Milan; he also invites Venice to ally with him against Louis.

The Republic, facing a renewed French onslaught, readily accepts the offer.

The new Veneto-Papal alliance is on the offensive by July 1510.

An initial attack on French-occupied Genoa fails, but …

…Venetian troops under Lucio Malvezzo finally drive the French from Vicenza in early August; and …

…a joint force commanded by Francesco Maria della Rovere, the Duke of Urbino, captures Modena on August 17.

Julius now excommunicates Alfonso d'Este, thus justifying an attack on the Duchy itself; in anticipation of his coming victory, the Pope travels to Bologna, so as to be nearby when Ferrara is taken.

The French army, however, has been left unopposed by the Swiss (who, having arrived in Lombardy, had been bribed into leaving by Louis) and is free to march south into the heart of Italy.

Charles II d'Amboise in early October advances on Bologna, splitting the Papal forces; by October 18, he is only a few miles from the city.

Julius now realizes that the Bolognese are openly hostile to the Papacy and will not offer any resistance to the French; left with only a detachment of Venetian cavalry, he resorts to excommunicating d'Amboise, who has in the meantime become convinced by the English ambassador to avoid attacking the person of the Pope and has thus withdrawn to Ferrara.

The Bolognesi have rebelled against Julius and toppled Michelangelo's bronze statue of the Pope from above the city gate.

Alfonso receives the shards and recasts them as a cannon named La Giulia, which he sets on the ramparts of the castello.

A newly assembled Papal army conquers Concordia in December and …

…besieges the fortress of Mirandola.

The Mamluks again attempt to secure the help of the Venetians against the Portuguese, and they do intervene by pleading their case with the Pope.

The Venetians, who have been at peace with the Ottomans since the signature of the 1503 peace treaty by Andrea Gritti after the Ottoman–Venetian War, have continued to secure peace with the Ottomans.

They renew their treaty in 1511, leading them to encourage the Ottomans to participate on the Mamluk side in the conflict against the Portuguese.

The rapprochement is such that Venice authorizes Ottoman provisioning in its Mediterranean ports, such as Cyprus.

Venice also requests Ottoman support in the War of the League of Cambrai, but in vain.