Charleville-Mézières resulted from the reunion of two towns. Mézières built its merchant reputation throughout the Middle Ages. Its prosperity becoming attractive, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V tried to penetrate the Kingdom of France to conquer the city. The renowned Chevalier de Bayard stopped him at the city's gates. King Francis I, therefore, decided to strengthen its fortifications and ordered the construction of the Milard and Du Roy towers, still visible today. Afterward, an Italian prince, Charles of Gonzague, gave Mézières its Italian Baroque architecture.