| War of Padua | |||||||||
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| Part of the Venetian expansion in the Terraferma | |||||||||
 Map of the expansion of the Republic of Venice in mainland Italy (Terraferma) in the 15th century | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Republic of Venice.svg){kind=small} Duchy of Milan.svg){kind=small} Lordship of Mantua |
 Lordship of Padua.svg){kind=small} Lordship of Ferrara | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Malatesta IV Malatesta Paolo Savelli Carlo Zeno Jacopo Dal Verme Francesco I Gonzaga |
Francesco II 'il Novello' Niccolò III d'Este | ||||||||
The War of Padua was a conflict in 1404–1405 between the Republic of Venice and the Carrarese lordship of Padua. In the power vacuum produced by the death of the Duke of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, in 1402, Francesco II da Carrara endeavored to expand into the Veneto and capture cities held by Visconti troops. These designs alarmed Venice, which allied with Milan to counter the common threat posed by the Carrarese state, and for the first time adopted a policy of direct intervention in the affairs of its hinterland.
The war began with the Carrarese move against Verona and Vicenza in April 1404. While Verona was taken, Vicenza instead surrendered to Venice on 25 April 1404, thwarting Carrarese designs. A massive mobilization of the Republic's military capacities followed, with an army of 20,000 or more men assembled by summer. Despite stiff resistance by the Paduans and their Ferrarese allies, during the autumn of 1404 the Venetian forces proceeded to lay siege to Verona, advanced deep into Paduan territory, and contested control of the Polesine. In spring 1405, the Carrarese position began to deteriorate rapidly: Niccolò III d'Este took Ferrara out of the war, while on 22 June, Verona rebelled and surrendered to the Venetian army. Padua itself finally fell to the Venetians in November 1405. After the Venetian victory, the Carrara domains were incorporated into the Venetian state, marking the beginning of Venice's expansion in mainland Italy, while the Carrara family members were executed.