The Italian War of 1494-1498. According to Wikipedia, “The First Italian War, sometimes referred to as the Italian War of 1494 or Charles VIII’s Italian War, was the opening phase of the Italian Wars.” The Italian war started when Charles VII of France had the idea to invade Italy. The French kept attacking cities, and finally Pope Alexander VI formed the League of Venice. The League of Venice defeated France so Charles VII retreated to France and died.