Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/415

 Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 301 various portions of the Italian peninsula under their sway. Spain and Austria were particularly successful in this, and Italy re- mained largely under foreign rule down to the latter part of the COURT OF THE PALACE AT BLOIS The expedition of Charles VIII to Italy called the attention of French architects to the beautiful Renaissance style used there. As cannon had by this time begun to render the old kind of castles with thick walls and towers useless as a means of defense, the French kings began to construct magnifi- cent palaces, of which this is an excellent example nineteenth century, when it was unified under a single ruler and finally became the independent nation it is today. 506. Spread of Italian Art. In the second place, the French learned to admire the art and culture of Italy. The nobles began to change their feudal castles, which since the invention of gun- powder were no longer impregnable, into luxurious palaces and country houses. The new scholarship of Italy also took root and flourished not only in France but in England and Germany as well, and Greek began to be studied outside of Italy. Conse- quently, just as Italy was becoming, politically, the victim of foreign aggressions, it was also losing, never to regain, that