Clandestine contacts, negotiations, and agreements revolutionized the political geography of northern Italy and created the first embryo of an entirely new alliance between cities, both in size, programmatic ambition, and the resounding results achieved in the end. This time, Cremona and Bergamo, old allies of the Empire but now exasperated by severe penalties, were also included. Then came Brescia and Mantua, followed by many others, including Lodi and Piacenza, and then Milan.
