Salone dei Cinquecento, Hall of the Five Hundred
Salone dei Cinquecento, Hall of the Five Hundred 
Palazzo Vecchio (Florence Town Hall)

The Battle of Marciano (La battaglia di Marciano) 1565
Giorgio Vasari (1511 - 1574)
Fresco painting
Physical Dimensions: w1300 x h760 cm (Complete)

The painting shows a very important battle in the history of the Medici family, which marked the conquest of the city of Siena.

The Battle of Marciano, also known as the Battle of Scannagallo (which was a creek near the village of Marciano della Chiana), was fought August 2, 1554, between the French/Siena army under the command of Piero Strozzi against the Hispanic/Florentine army under the command of Gian Giacomo Medici , engaged by the Duke of Florence Cosimo I de’ Medici.

The Duke Cosimo wanted to control all of Tuscany, but among the remaining obstacles was the difficult task of subduing the Republic of Siena.

Like all wars, however, the battle between Florence and Siena was also a way to resolve other conflicts.

Specifically, the Battle of Marciano was a consequence of three different types of opposition.

The first conflict was internal to the city of Florence: The Strozzi family and the Medici family fought for hegemony over the city even more than over the Tuscany region.

The second opposition had a European dimension: France and Spain fought for hegemony over the continent.

Spain was interested in maintaining control of Tuscany, considered to be of strategic importance for marine landings, as well as for its mineral wealth and for the financial organization of the Siena and Florentine bankers who exercised a dominant role in the European banking system.
France was rather eager to have an important political role again in the Italian territory capable of countering the Spanish supremacy.

The third conflict was internal to the Medici family, involving the Queen Consort of France Catherine de’ Medici, a distant cousin of Cosimo I, and his bitter rival.
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