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[[File: Charles VIII Ecole Francaise 16th century Musee de Conde Chantilly.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px200px|Portrait of Charles VIII]]
The French invasion of Italy in 1494 is widely seen as the beginning of the end of the Italian Renaissance. Charles VIII invaded Italy to lay claim to the Kingdom of Naples, which composed most of southern Italy. The French army marched through Italy with only minimal resistance. The invasion had a profound impact on Italian society and politics. The invasion of Charles VII changed the development of Italy and can be considered one of the primary reasons the Renaissance ended. The French Invasion was to lead to a series of wars that greatly weakened the Italian City-States, prompted a greater role for Spain in the peninsula and eventually led to the domination of Italy by the Spanish Monarchy.
