ABSTRACT
Italy in 1527 may have been politically, demographically, economically and psychologically in ruins. Charles returned to Italy in the winter of 1533-34 to reward the loyal general, the marchese of Mantua, with the title of duke and to summon the states of Italy to another meeting at Bologna - this time for the purpose of redrafting the arrangements of the previous meeting in the form of a solemn alliance. The principal agent of peace and the principal architect of the new political order was the Emperor Charles. The new political order rested primarily on the authority of the emperor himself. The new political order was clearly established on much broader social bases than those of any of its predecessors. Far, then, from being a 'foreign' or a 'Spanish' dominion imposed upon Italians against their will, the new political order rested upon a voluntary alliance among members of various sizes and degrees of external autonomy.
