Castello del Buonconsiglio monumenti e collezioni provinciali

Charles V (1500-1558; Emperor 1519-1556)

Charles was born to Joan the Insane and Philip the Fair, archduke of Austria. Charles of Hapsburg was destined to inherit the Franche-Comté, the Flanders, the Hapsburg territories of his father, and the crown of Spain from his mother, thanks to the shrewd political marriage organised by Maximilian I.

Charles, as sole inheritor to Maximilian I, obtained the imperial crown in 1519 upon the death of his grandfather. With the support of the most important German bankers, he was able to realise the dream of reconstructing the universal monarchy of Charlemagne. The ambitious political project, which was based upon the ideal restoration of political and religious union to the empire, had King Francis I of France as its main antagonist, against whom Charles V fought a continuous battle. The main stage for action was Italy, given its complex and irregular political and territorial nature, making it interesting for alliances on all sides. After having defeated Francis I at Pavia in 1525, Charles V guaranteed supremacy in Italy, and also in Europe. He was crowned emperor in 1530 by Pope Clement VII, to whom he had previously inflicted the ‘Sack of Rome’ in 1527.

In the meantime, the situation had become more difficult in the German territories, entrusted to the reign of his brother, Ferdinand I of Austria, due to the spread of Lutheranism and linked to the revolts of the princes and the peasants’ war in 1525. Charles V’s behaviour alternated from tolerance to violence towards the Protestants and followers of Lutheranism, forcing them to make pacts and eventually passed the decisions onto the General Council in accordance with the church’s faith and reforms (Council of Trent 1545-1563).

Another serious problem that faced Charles V was the advance of Turkish troops towards Hungary, which also threatened Vienna.

Charles V abdicated and withdrew from the political scene in 1556, following the failure of the political programme of absolutism and monarchical centralisation in Germany and Europe. His dominions were divided between his son Philip II who received Spain, Italy, Flanders and all the territories overseas, and his brother Ferdinand I who governed the Hapsburg dominion.