The New Cambridge Modern History

Both France and Spain were so exhausted by the Thirty Years War that their struggle in Italy was reduced to an inconclusive exchange of blows. Political immobility was emphasised by the fact that Venice, the strongest of the autonomous Italian States, was involved in the War of Candia that for a quarter of a century it could play no part in Italian affairs. As a traditional opponent of Spanish-Catholic policy, Venice had benefited from the weakening of Spain and the papacy brought about by the Thirty Years War. Before Venice could reap any reward from this, however, it was suddenly forced into an all-out war against the Porte which caused a decisive change in Venetian history. The Peace of the Pyrenees restored the status quo in Italy. Spain retained its traditional territories, and France kept Pinerolo and with it control over the duchy of Savoy. The Spaniards evacuated Vercelli and the French had already left the citadel of Turin.