the beginning of 1510, and shortly afterward France was placed under papal interdict. Attempts to cause a rupture between France and England proved unsuccessful; on the other hand, at a synod convened by Louis at Tours in September 1510, the French bishops withdrew from papal obedience and resolved, with the Emperor's co-operation, to seek dethronement of the pope. With some courage Julius marched his army to Bologna and then against the French to Mirandola. In November 1511, a council met at Pisa, called by rebel cardinals with support from the French king and the Empire; they demanded the deposition of Julius II at Pisa. He refused to shave, showing utter contempt for the hated French occupation. "per vendicarsi et diceva ... anco fuora scazato el re Ludovico Franza d'Italia." Whereupon Julius entered into another Holy League of 1511: in alliance with Ferdinand II of Aragon and the Venetians he conspired against the Gallican liberties. In a short time, both Henry VIII, King of England (1509–47), and Maximilian I also joined the Holy League of 1511 against France. Ferdinand of Spain now recognized Naples as a papal fief, invested in 1511, and therefore Julius II now regarded France as the main foreign power in the Italian peninsula hostile to Papal interests. Louis XII defeated the alliance at Battle of Ravenna on 11 April 1512. When a desperate battle felled over 20,000 men in a bloodbath the Pope commanded his protege, a newly released young Cardinal Medici to re-take Florence with a Spanish army. The rescue of the city on 1 September 1512 saved Rome from another invasion, ousting Soderini, and returning the dynastic rule of the Medici. Julius had seemingly restored fortuna or control by exercising his manly vertu, just as Machiavelli wrote. This re-asserted a strong relation between Florence and Rome, a lasting legacy of Julius II. Yet Machiavelli and his methods would not outlast Julius' Papacy. Julius hired Swiss mercenaries to fight against the French in Milan in May 1512, causing the French army to withdraw across the Alps into Savoy. The papacy gained control of Parma and Piacenza in central Italy. With the French out of Italy and Spain recognizing Naples as a papal fief, a Congress was held in Mantua by Julius II to declare the liberation of the peninsula. Nevertheless, although Julius had centralized and expanded the Papal States, he was far from realizing his dream