The Battle of Ruvo was fought on 23 February 1503 between a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 army under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba known as The Great Captain, Duke of Terranova and Santangelo, Andria, Montalto and Sessa, also known as Gonzalo de Córdoba, Italian: Gonsalvo or Consalvo Ernandes di Cordova was a Spanish general fighting in the times of the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars...

 and Diego de Mendoza and a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 army commanded by Jacques de la Palice

Jacques de la Palice

Jacques de la Palice was a French nobleman and military officer. His full name and titles are Jacques II de Chabannes, Lord of La Palice, of Pacy, of Chauverothe, of Bort-le-Comte and of Héron...

. The battle was part of the Second Italian War

Second Italian War

The Second Italian War , sometimes known as Louis XII's Italian War or the War over Naples, was the second of the Italian Wars; it was fought primarily by Louis XII of France and Ferdinand II of Aragon, with the participation of several Italian powers...

 and was fought at the town of Ruvo in the Province of Bari

Province of Bari

The Province of Bari is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bari.It has an area of 5,138 km², and a total population of 1,594,109 . There are 48 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Bari...

, modern-day Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. The result was a Spanish victory.

Overview

Following the Treaty of Granada signed on 11 November 1500, Spanish monarch Ferdinand the Catholic

Ferdinand II of Aragon

Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...

 and Louis XII of France

Louis XII of France

Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...

 agreed that each power takes a partition of the Kingdom of Naples

Kingdom of Naples

The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...

. The deal soon fell through, however, and Spain and France resumed their war over the kingdom. This resulted in the Second Italian War

Second Italian War

The Second Italian War , sometimes known as Louis XII's Italian War or the War over Naples, was the second of the Italian Wars; it was fought primarily by Louis XII of France and Ferdinand II of Aragon, with the participation of several Italian powers...

.

The battle

During the end of 1502 and the early part of 1503 the Spanish stood at bay in the entrenched camp at Barletta

Barletta

Barletta is a city and comune located in the north of Apulia in south eastern Italy. Its current population is 94,140.It is famous for the Colossus of Barletta, a bronze statue, representing a Roman Emperor...

 near the Ofanto river on the shores of the Adriatic sea

Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

. Once hearing about the retreat and departure of Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours

Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours

Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours , known for most of his life as the Count of Guise, was the third son of Jacques d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours and Louise of Anjou....

, Gonzalo decided to launch an offensive in a Moorish

Moors

The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...

 guerrilla style on the town of Ruvo which was defended by Jacques de la Palice

Jacques de la Palice

Jacques de la Palice was a French nobleman and military officer. His full name and titles are Jacques II de Chabannes, Lord of La Palice, of Pacy, of Chauverothe, of Bort-le-Comte and of Héron...

.

Gonzalo de Córdoba stormed the town at early morning launching a cannon

Cannon

A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...

ade offensive. Soon after, he faced a resolute resistance by the French. However, within four hours he could open a breach from where the Spanish soldiers could enter and launch the assault. Fighting with sword

Sword

A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...

s lasted for seven hours and reached houses and streets until Jacques de la Palice

Jacques de la Palice

Jacques de la Palice was a French nobleman and military officer. His full name and titles are Jacques II de Chabannes, Lord of La Palice, of Pacy, of Chauverothe, of Bort-le-Comte and of Héron...

 was wounded and held prisoner.

The Spanish army soon decided to get back to Barletta

Barletta

Barletta is a city and comune located in the north of Apulia in south eastern Italy. Its current population is 94,140.It is famous for the Colossus of Barletta, a bronze statue, representing a Roman Emperor...

 while Louis d'Armagnac

Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours

Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours , known for most of his life as the Count of Guise, was the third son of Jacques d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours and Louise of Anjou....

 tried to return to Ruvo to help the French army. Once there he found the Spanish flag

Flag of Spain

The flag of Spain , as it is defined in the Spanish Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the size of each red stripe...

already waving in the walls of the city and understood that he arrived behind schedule and stopped to follow ahead.