Wars of Castro

The Wars of Castro
The city of Castro, on which the Wars of Castro centered.
Date 1641–44 (1st), 1646-49 (2nd) Location Castro, Italy Result Farnese defeat and the destruction of Castro
Belligerents
Papal armies of Pope Urban VIII and later of Pope Innocent X	Farnese Dukes of Parma and of Castro – Odoardo Farnese and later Ranuccio II Farnese
Commanders and leaders
Antonio Barberini Fabrizio Savelli, later replaced by Taddeo Barberini Luigi Mattei as commander of papal loyalists and hired mercenaries Achille d'Étampes de Valençay and Cornelio Malvasia as commanders of cavalry	Mattias de' Medici as commander of the forces of the Republic of Venice, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Duchy of Modena and Reggio Raimondo Montecuccoli as commander of mercenary Modenese forces loyal to Francesco I d'Este

The Wars of Castro were a series of conflicts during the mid-17th century revolving around the ancient city of Castro (located in present-day Lazio, Italy), which eventually resulted in the city's destruction on 2 September 1649. The conflict was a result of a power struggle between the papacy – represented by members of two deeply entrenched Roman families and their popes, the Barberini and Pope Urban VIII and the Pamphili and Pope Innocent X – and the Farnese dukes of Parma, who controlled Castro and its surrounding territories as the Duchy of Castro.