As one of the main European economic, political, and religious centers throughout the late medieval and Renaissance period, Milan is the focus of this long overdue study of one of the crown jewels of the Spanish Empire. Reworking the traditional narrative that depicts Spanish rule as the primary factor in seventeenth-century Italy's decline into decadence, author Stefano D'Amico shows that in reality the Spanish monarchy provided new opportunities for wealth and prosperity to Milan and its elites. The city took advantage of its strategic and financial role within the Spanish empire and used its extended network to maintain a leading role in European economics and politics.

This book provides a broad overview of the main features of Spanish Milan and their transformations during the 16th and 17th centuries. At the same time, it addresses an important and long-lasting historiographical debate that traditionally interpreted the Spanish period as one of decline for Italian cities in general and Milan in particular.