In autumn of 1526, the Emperor, Charles V, sends his German landsknechts led by Georg von Frundsberg to march towards Rome. The inferior papal armies, commanded by Giovanni de'Medici, try to chase them in the midst of a harsh winter. Nevertheless, the Imperial armies manage to cross the rivers along their march and get cannons thanks to the maneuvers of its Lords. In a skirmish, Giovanni de'Medici is wounded in the leg by a falconet shot. The attempts to cure him fail and he dies. The Imperial armies assault Rome. The film is beautifully but unassumingly set, and shows the hard conditions in which war is waged and its lack of glory. It ends straightforwardly with the declaration made after the death of Giovanni de'Medici by the commanders of the armies in Europe of not using again fire weapons because of their cruelty.
as Giovanni De' Medici
as Federico II Gonzaga
as Lucantonio Cuppano
as Matteo Cusastro
as Pietro Aretino
as Caterina De' Medici
as Nobildonna di Mantova
as Aloisio Gonzaga
as Paolo Giovio
as Ambasciatore di Carlo V
as Barcarolo
as Alfonso d'Este
as Benedetto Agnello
as Maestro Habram
as Frate domenicano
as Ercole d'Este
as Ufficiale posto di guardia
as Sottufficiale alemanno
as Cortigiana
as Francesco Maria della Rovere
as Servitore particolare di Federico Gonzaga
as Marito della cortigiana
as Staffiere
as Prete
as Vicario
as Zorzo Frundsberg
