How did the Peace of Venice end Frederick I’s conflict with Pope Alexander III?

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Medieval manuscript miniature showing Frederick I as a crowned crusader holding an orb and scepter, with Henry of Schaftlarn kneeling and presenting a book to him. — Frederick I Frederick I as a Crusader with (right) Henry of Schäftlarn dedicating to him a copy of the *History of the First Crusade* by Robert of St. Remy; miniature from a manuscript in the Vatican Library.

The Peace of Venice, signed in 1177, effectively ended the long-standing conflict between Frederick I and Pope Alexander III by forcing the emperor to acknowledge Alexander as the true pope.1

Following Frederick's military defeat at the Battle of Legnano in 1176, he recognized that he could no longer sustain his opposition to the papacy. As part of the reconciliation, Frederick met the Pope in front of the Church of St. Mark’s in Venice, where he received the kiss of peace from Alexander III.12

While the treaty resolved the schism and the imperial conflict with the papacy, it notably excluded the Lombard League, with whom Frederick had only negotiated a separate truce. A definitive peace treaty with the Lombard cities was not confirmed until 1183.12