even before the Venetian ambassadors had presented themselves to Julius for absolution, however, the Council of Ten had privately resolved that the terms had been accepted under duress and were therefore invalid, and that Venice should violate them at the earliest opportunity. This apparent reconciliation between Venice and the Pope did not stop multiple French, Ferrarese, and Imperial armies from invading Venetian territory in May 1510. Gianpaolo Baglioni and Andrea Gritti, left in command of the Venetian forces by Pitigliano's death in January, withdrew to Padua; by 24 May, the League's armies had taken Vicenza and the Polesine, and were advancing on Legnago. Gritti fortified Padua for an expected attack by a combined Franco-Imperial army, but Louis, frustrated by Maximilian's failure to appear in person and distracted by the death of his advisor, the Cardinal d'Amboise, abandoned his plans for a siege. Veneto-Papal alliance Julius, meanwhile, had become increasingly concerned by the growing French presence in Italy; more significantly, alienated from Alfonso d'Este by friction over a licence for a salt monopoly in the Papal States and Alfonso's continued forays against Venetian forces to secure his recently reacquired Polesine, he had formulated plans to seize the Duchy of Ferrara, a French ally, and to add its territory to the Papal States. His own forces being inadequate for the venture, the Pope hired an army of Swiss mercenaries, ordering them to attack the French in Milan; he also invited Venice to ally with him against Louis. The Republic, facing a renewed French onslaught, readily accepted the offer. By July 1510, the new Veneto-Papal alliance was on the offensive. An initial attack on French-occupied Genoa failed, but Venetian troops under Lucio Malvezzo finally drove the French from Vicenza in early August, and a joint force commanded by Francesco Maria della Rovere, the Duke of Urbino, captured Modena on 17 August. Julius now excommunicated Alfonso d'Este, thus justifying an attack on the Duchy of Ferrara itself; in anticipation of his coming victory, the Pope traveled to Bologna, so as to be nearby when Ferrara was taken. The French army, however, had been left unopposed by the Swiss (who, having arrived in Lombardy, had been bribed into leaving by Louis) and was free to march south into the heart of Italy. In early October, Charles II d'Amboise advanced on Bologna, splitting the Papal forces; by 18 October, he was only a few miles from