Ravenna

From 1275 the Da Polenta ruled Ravenna as hereditary lords under the pope. They rebuilt houses in masonry, drew settlers back to the half-empty city and cleared the river channels that joined it once more to the Adriatic and the Po delta, and their court gave refuge to the exiled Florentine poet Dante, who died here of malaria in 1321. Venice drove out the last of the family in 1441 and held the city until its defeat at Agnadello in 1509 returned Ravenna to the pope. The wars did not pass it by for long. In April 1512 a French army besieged the city and routed the relief army of Julius II's Holy League beneath its walls, then sacked Ravenna, killing townspeople and stripping churches and houses before marching away.