Atlas of Battles

battle, major, early modern

Battle of Marignano

Battle of Marignano was a battle fought on 13 September 1515 at Melegnano, in what is now Italy; it lasted 1 day. It was part of the War of the League of Cambrai, which ran from 1508 to 1516. The recorded result: Franco-Venetian victory; Swiss cantons signed the Treaty of Fribourg establishing the "Perpetual Peace". Recorded strength: French: 30,000 men and 72 guns; Venetian reinforcements: 10,000 men (very few engaged) against 22,000 infantry; 200 cavalry.

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Battle of Marignano
Attributed to Maître à la Ratière, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought13 September 1515lasted 1 day
WhereMelegnano, Italy45.367N, 9.317E
OutcomeFranco-Venetian victory; Swiss cantons signed the Treaty of Fribourg establishing the "Perpetual Peace"
Belligerents21px Kingdom of France; VeniceagainstOld Swiss Confederacy; 21px Milan
Casualties and losses5,000 deadand10,000 dead
Part ofWar of the League of Cambrai1508 to 1516

Where it sits in the War of the League of Cambrai

Invasion of Cadore, 1508Battle of Cadore, 1508Battle of Treviglio, 1509Battle of Casaloldo, 1509Battle of Agnadello, 1509Battle of Isola della Scala, 1509Siege of Padua, 1509Battle of the citadel of Vicenza, 1509Battle of Polesella, 1509Siege of Monselice, 1510Siege of Mirandola, 1510Siege of Trévise, 1511Siege of Treviso, 1511Battle of Ravenna, 1512Battle of Pavia, 1512Battle of Saint-Mathieu, 1512Siege of Crema, 1513Battle of Brest, 1513Battle of Blancs-Sablons Bay, 1513Battle of Novara, 1513Battle of Guinegate, 1513Siege of Dijon, 1513Battle of Flodden, 1513Battle of La Motta, 1513Battle of Marignano, 1515Siege of Asola, 1516Bombing of Cartagena, 151615081516Battle of Marignano, 1515
27 placed engagements of the War of the League of Cambrai in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date13 September 1515
to 14 September 1515
PlaceMelegnano, Italy
45.367N, 9.317E
KindBattle, early modern
Territorial changeFrance occupies Milan
StrengthFrench: 30,000 men and 72 guns; Venetian reinforcements: 10,000 men (very few engaged)22,000 infantry; 200 cavalry
Casualties and losses5,000 dead10,000 dead
Commanders
  • Marx Röist
  • Maximilian Sforza
  • Cardinal Mattheus Schiner
Battle of MarignanoBattle of MarignanoSiege of MelegnanoBattle of LandrianoBattle of SizianoBombing of Milan in World War IISiege of MediolanumBattle of LandrianoBattle of SizianoBombing of Milan in World War IITurinGenoaBolognaBergamoParmaFerraraTrentoLugano100 km45.367N, 9.317E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Marignano
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Marignano today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-08-24. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 88 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 64 to 115 m, 50 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 53% cropland, 19% built-up, 16% tree cover.

cropland: 53%built-up: 19%tree cover: 16%grassland: 11%cropland 53%built-up 19%tree cover 16%grassland 11%
west to east, 10.0 km79 to 98 mnorth to south, 10.0 km81 to 106 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1515

Battle of Marignano is one of 1,470 engagements of the 16th century in the atlas and one of 1,038 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q330, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Marignano, revision 1370449034, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.