Following the Treaty of Granada signed on 11 November 1500, Spanish monarch Ferdinand the Catholic and Louis XII of France agreed that each power takes a partition of the Kingdom of Naples.

During the end of 1502 and the early part of 1503 the Spanish stood at bay in the entrenched camp at Barletta near the Ofanto river on the shores of the Adriatic Sea.

Upon hearing about the retreat and departure of Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours, Gonzalo decided to launch an offensive in a Moorish guerrilla style on the city of Ruvo which was defended by Jacques de la Palice.

However, within four hours he opened a breach from where the Spanish soldiers could enter and launch the assault, divided in two sections led respectively by Córdoba and Diego García de Paredes.

Fighting with swords lasted for seven hours and reached houses and streets until Jacques de la Palice was wounded and held prisoner.