The Italian wars which follow bear more or less the stamp of mercenary wars, and are interesting chiefly from a military point of view, only the essential points of their story will therefore be touched upon here. It has been shown how the league got a footing in Ticino under the Visconti;[44] and later on the Swiss not only strove to increase their acquisitions in Italy, but played a prominent part in the wars waged by foreign princes and powers which set up pretensions to Naples, Milan, &c. The period of the French invasion of Italy opened in 1494 when the Swiss assisted Charles VIII. of France in the conquest of Naples, which he claimed from the house of Aragon. His successor, Louis XII., took Milan from Ludovico Sforza, surnamed Il Moro, with the aid of the Swiss, promising to cede Bellinzona to the Swiss as a reward for their services. Of the numerous enemies he raised up against himself the bitterest was Pope Julius II., who counted on the help of the Eidgenossen in the task of driving the French from Italy, and the more so as he discovered amongst them a fit instrument for carrying out his schemes. Matthæus Schinner, a priest, was a most remarkable man. Born of the poorest of parents, in the Upper Valais, he had in early life sung in the streets for bread. From this humble origin he had raised himself to the position of Cardinal, and had become an intimate friend of the Pontiff. Having money, indulgences, and power liberally at command, he brought about a five years' alliance between the Papal See and Switzerland. The Swiss readily entered into this agreement, as they had been slighted by Louis, and, moreover, their contract with France had expired in 1510. Spain, England, and other powers, had likewise entered into league with Pope Julius, but his chief supporters were the Swiss. In their march through Lombardy, against the French (1512), Pavia surrendered, and Milan also fell to the victors. Zwingli, the reformer, who had been present in the campaign as camp-preacher, reports that it was curious to see the ambassadors of great powers appearing at the Tagsatzung held at Baden to decide on the fate of Milan, and pleading with the Eidgenossen for a greater or less share of the duchy.[45] Despite all flatteries, the Swiss envoys reinstated Maximilian Sforza in his heritage, and in return for this they received Lugano, Locarno, &c. The attempt of Louis to re-conquer Milan miscarried. His fine army, commanded by the greatest generals of the age, Trémouille and Trivulzio, was defeated at Novara in 1513. This siege surpassed all the Swiss had yet gone through, yet they left open the gates, and in derision hung linen before the breaches. Foreign historians compared this battle with the greatest victories of the Greeks and Romans. The historian, Machiavelli, prophesied that the Swiss would one day acquire the leadership of Italy, but that was not to be, however. [Illustration: FREIBURG CUSTOM-HOUSE.]