In 1501 a French army under d'Aubigny attacked Naples from the north, while a Spanish force commanded by Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba occupied the southern part of the kingdom.

However, dissension appeared between the Spanish and the French for possession of several areas that lay between their spheres of control, and by June 1502 war broke out between them.

In February 1503 a Spanish fleet sailed from Cartagena, Spain, headed for southern Italy carrying reinforcements for Fernández de Córdoba.

The fleet consisted of 40 ships carrying 600 cavalry and 2,000 infantry under the command of Luis Portocarrero, and arrived in Messina, Sicily on 5 March.

Upon hearing of the Spanish reinforcements, d'Aubigny gathered 200 cavalry and 800 infantry and marched towards Terranova Sappo Minulio.