On February 24, 2025, the Italian Post issued a postage stamp in honor of the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Pavia.

The Battle of Pavia, which took place on this day in 1525, was the decisive battle of the third stage of the Italian Wars (1521-1526), ​​when France, under the command of King Francis I, tried to regain its influence in rich but fragmented Italy. It was opposed by the united army of Charles V of Habsburg - the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and at the same time the King of Spain.

The opposing forces were approximately equal in number: about 23 thousand people on the French side against 24 thousand for the imperialists. At the same time, the main striking force of the French army were heavy knights, reinforced by infantry, while in the Habsburg army a significant part was made up of infantry landsknechts and Spanish arquebusiers, reinforced by artillery.

The outcome of the battle was catastrophic for France: the army was routed (losses amounted to more than 12 thousand people), many prominent military leaders were killed, and King Francis I himself was captured. The influence of France in Italy was completely undermined. From that moment on, the North of Italy came under the control of the Habsburgs.

The Last Battle of the Middle Ages

The significance of the Battle of Pavia goes far beyond geopolitics. This battle is called "the last battle of the Middle Ages and the first battle of the New Age." It was Pavia that became the turning point, after which the idea of ​​warfare tactics changed in Europe. It became obvious that the era of knightly wars had come to an end, and knights in the classical sense of the word had finished their military path. On the battlefield, professional infantry armed with firearms turned out to be much more effective than detachments of heavy knights on horseback.

Tapestries as a Chronicle of the Era

The victory of Charles V at the Battle of Pavia was immortalized in seven beautiful tapestries that tell the story of various episodes of the battle. The tapestries were woven between 1528 and 1531 in the workshop of Willem and Jan Dermoyen in Brussels and presented to Charles V by the States General of the Netherlands.

The tapestries are of astonishing dimensions: each is 8 to 9 m long and about 4.3 m high. The tapestries were made of wool and silk yarn, silver and gold threads. The canvases were created based on sketches by the Flemish artist Bernard van Orley. Each of the tapestries is not just a work of art, they are precise and detailed illustrations of the famous battle. The tapestries are kept in Naples, in the Capodimonte Museum.

The Marquis of Pescara - a hero inscribed in the fabric of history

The postage stamp shows a fragment of the second tapestry, which depicts the attack of Spanish arquebusiers on the French cavalry. The composition of the postage stamp is built in such a way that the viewer's attention is focused on the Italian condottiere Fernando Francesco d'Avalos, the Marquis of Pescara. The governor of Milan, viceroy of Sicily and commander-in-chief of the Spanish troops in the army of Charles V is depicted on horseback with a spear in his raised hand. It was largely thanks to him that victory was won at the Battle of Pavia. However, this battle was the last for the Marquis, who soon died from wounds received during the battle.

The stamp not only shows a fragment of an ancient tapestry, but also contains a large commemorative inscription in the center "500 years". The artist beautifully wove into it the silhouette of a mounted knight, as a farewell bow to a bygone era of chivalry. In this stamp, although it is printed on paper, there is a glimmer of silk and gold, and you can almost hear the neighing of horses and the sound of musket volleys.

In this issue, the Italian Post carefully combined art, history and memory - it is for such stamps that philately is loved by collectors. After all, sometimes a small rectangle of paper can tell about a great turning point of the era better than any textbook.

Sources: www.poste.it , topwar.ru