h the consequences of this would have
been less detrimental to the Florentines, had not the victory to which
it gave occasion, been nullified by the misconduct of others. The death
of the count being known, the forces of the church, which had already
assembled in Perugia, conceived hopes of overcoming the Florentines, and
encamped upon the lake, within three miles of the enemy. On the other
side, Jacopo Guicciardini, commissary to the army, by the advice
of Roberto da Rimino, who, after the death of Count Carlo, was the
principal commander, knowing the ground of their sanguine expectations,
determined to meet them, and coming to an engagement near the lake,
upon the site of the memorable rout of the Romans, by Hannibal, the
Carthaginian general, the papal forces were vanquished. The news of the
victory, which did great honor to the commanders, diffused universal
joy at Florence, and would have ensured a favorable termination of the
campaign, had not the disorders which arose in the army at Poggibonzi
thrown all into confusion; for the advantage obtained by the valor of
the one, was more than counterbalanced by the disgraceful proceedings
of the other. Having made considerable booty in the Siennese territory,
quarrels arose about the division of it between the marquis of Mantua
and the marquis of Ferrara, who, coming to arms, assailed each other
with the utmost fury; and the Florentines seeing they could no longer
avail themselves of the services of both, allowed the marquis of Ferrara
and his men to return home.

CHAPTER IV

The duke of Calabria routs the Florentine army at Poggibonzi--Dismay in
Florence on account of the defeat--Progress of the duke of Calabria--The
Florentines wish for peace--Lorenzo de' Medici determines to go to
Naples to treat with the king--Lodovico Sforza, surnamed the Moor, and
his brothers, recalled to Milan--Changes in the government of that city
in consequence--The Genoese take Serezana--Lorenzo de' Medici arrives
at Naples--Peace concluded with the king--The pope and the Venetians
consent to the peace--The Florentines in fear of the duke of
Calabria--Enterprises of the Turks--They take Otranto--The Florentines
reconciled with the pope--Their ambassadors at the papal court--The
pope's reply to the ambassadors--The king of Naples restores to the
Florentines all the fortresses he had taken.

The army being thus reduced, without a leader, and disorder prevailing
in every department, the d