The Black Bands (Italian: Bande Nere), sometimes referred to as the Black Bands of Giovanni, was a company of Italian mercenaries formed and commanded by Giovanni de' Medici during the Italian Wars; their name came from their black mourning colours for the death of Pope Leo X.

Initially in the service of Charles de Lannoy and the Pope, the company fought at Bicocca in 1522 and the Sesia in 1523.

A pay dispute led to it transferring its allegiance to Francis I of France; it took part in the Battle of Pavia under the command of Richard de la Pole (d. 1525), known as the "White Rose".

At the start of the War of the League of Cognac, the Bands attempted to resist the advance of Georg Frundsberg's Imperial landsknechts into Lombardy.

It retreated from the siege with the remainder of the French army—crippled by the plague—and surrendered to the Imperial forces in late 1528, disbanding shortly afterwards.