Early life Born in
Invorio, near
Novara, Ottone was one of the six children of Uberto Visconti, lord of
Massino, and Berta Pirovano. Along with his brother Azzone (later
Bishop of Ventimiglia), Ottone was forced into an ecclesiastical career by his family. He became
canon of
Desio and in 1247
chamberlain of the powerful
Cardinal Ottaviano degli Ubaldini. Under his patronage, Ottone was appointed by
Archbishop of Milan Leone da Perego as his envoy to
France in 1252, gaining the trust of
Pope Innocent IV, becoming his chaplain. After the death of Leone da Perego in 1257, Ottone was supported by Cardinal Ubaldini as successor to the
Archdiocese of Milan, against
Raimondo della Torre's candidacy. This action displeased the city's lord
Martino della Torre (relative of Raimondo), who claimed the historical autonomy of Milan on Archbishop appointments. Despite Martino's opposition,
Pope Urban IV chose Ottone as the new archbishop of Milan on 22 July 1262.
Power struggle in Milan The Pope's choice did not stop the hostility of Martino della Torre, who occupied
Milan Cathedral on August 1262, resulting in his
excommunication by the papal legate
Filippo di Pistoia. This act started a war between Martino's family, the
Della Torre or
Torriani, and the
Visconti. The two families were also politically opposed: the Della Torre were historically
Guelphs and allied of
Charles I of Anjou, while the Visconti were
Ghibellines and exponents of low nobility. Still in
Montefiascone, near
Viterbo, where he received Pope's appointment, Ottone marched to
Arona on 1 April 1263, where he met several nobles who had fled Milan owing to their opposition to Della Torre. Informed of Ottone's presence in
Lombardy, Martino sent his troops to put Arona under siege. Ottone, who occupied the near
Rocca of Angera, was forced to surrender on 5 May 1263. Back in Montefiascone, Ottone lost his powerful ally Urban IV, who died on October 1264. Della Torre, however, never obtained Raimondo's formal appointment, and after Martino's death, the once-loyal
Pallavicino family switched to the Visconti side, plotting the assassination of Paganino della Torre,
podestà of
Vercelli, on January 1266. In response, the new lord of Milan
Napoleone della Torre executed 53 nobles, suspected of scheming. This vicious act undermined Della Torre's grab on Milan, aggravated by
Pope Gregory X, a Visconti of
Piacenza, who in 1273 confirmed Ottone Visconti as legal Archbishop of Milan. Napoleone della Torre reacted by exiling all noble families who did not support him, causing the formation of an
émigré coalition in Novara and
Pavia. Using their financial and military support, Ottone's nephew
Teobaldo Visconti led an army in Vercelli, occupying
Castelseprio. Defeated by Torriani's forces, Teobaldo fled to
Lurate, near
Como, but after a battle in
Gallarate, his last forces were defeated and he was beheaded by Napoleone della Torre in 1276. Ottone, returned to Lombardy in the same year, recruited his supporters near Desio, where he was canon, and after a
bloody battle on January 1277, Visconti emerged victorious. Napoleone della Torre was imprisoned and tortured to death in
Castel Baradello, while his brother Francesco was executed after the battle. Ottone entered in Milan on 22 January 1277, becoming the first Visconti
de facto ruler of the city.
Rule and final years Having become Lord of Milan at the age of 69, Ottone tried to strengthen his family's power on the city and Lombardy. The years of his rule were not peaceful: Della Torre still claimed the
signoria (Italian for "lordship") and conquered
Lodi and Castelseprio, ruling as rogue power in the region between
Adda and
Ticino rivers. Ottone sought the support of his ally
William VII, Marquess of Montferrat, who demanded the city's government as
Capitano generale (general-captain), granted to him in 1278. After William VII's side switched in 1281, Ottone re-acquired full powers on the city, and in the battle of
Vaprio d'Adda of 1281, his forces defeated
Cassone della Torre, who was killed in the battle, while Raimondo, the elder claimant to Milan Archdiocese, fled to
Friuli. In 1287, the old Ottone appointed his grand-nephew
Matteo I Visconti as new
Capitano generale and left political affairs to him. In August 1291, following the fall of
Acre in the Holy Land to Muslim forces,
Pope Nicholas IV appealed to Ottone, urging him to hasten the convening of a new provincial council to determine how the city might be regained and to levy a special tax on the clergy to support that effort. In 1294, Matteo Visconti also gained the title of
Imperial vicar by
Adolf, King of Germany. In his final years, Ottone never got involved in the politics of Milan, concentrating only on religious affairs. He died on 8 August 1295, aged 88, in the
Abbey of Chiaravalle, and was buried in Milan Cathedral. ==References==