Martino della Torre thus became the first lord of Milan in May 1259, as a first measure he decided to banish the da Soresina family from the city so as not to have any opposition to the government. A few days later, on 17 September, he decided to ally himself with the
Papal States to defeat the major supporter of da Soresina family,
Ezzelino III da Romano, who was killed on 8 October 1259 following the
Battle of Cassano. After eliminating his enemies, della Torre thought about finding new allies, so on 11 November
Oberto Pallavicino was appointed captain general of Milan for five years despite the papal excommunication and as a result, the following year
Pope Alexander IV decided to excommunicate Martino della Torre as well. Despite the centralization of powers, della Torre was unable to have his cousin
Raimondo, a direct descendant of Pagano, elected bishop, who was instead assigned to the
Diocese of Como.
Ottone Visconti took office as
Archbishop of Milan on 22 July 1262, provoking the wrath of the lord of Milan, who forced Visconti, with the help of Pallavicino, to take refuge in
Montefiascone in the Papal States. A few months after Visconti's retreat, on 20 November 1263 Martino della Torre died in
Lodi. Due to his excommunication, he was buried near the
Chiaravalle Abbey and not inside it. The
Credenza di Sant'Ambrogio elected
Filippo della Torre, brother of Martino, as the new lord of Milan. In December 1263 Filippo annexed Como to the lordship of Milan thanks to the support of the local Vittiani family, and on 11 December 1264, following the expiration of his mandate, Oberto II Pallavicino was expelled from Milan, effectively becoming an enemy of the Della Torre family. In 1265 della Torre offered military aid to the Papal States in exchange for the election of his cousin Raimondo and the deposition of Ottone Visconti, but the proposal was again rejected by
Pope Clement IV, who had recently taken office on the papal throne. On 24 September 1265 Filippo della Torre died, leaving the conflicts with the church unresolved. Despite this, Filippo managed to form a united front led by Milan and followed by the cities of:
Bergamo,
Como,
Lecco,
Lodi,
Monza,
Novara,
Varese,
Vercelli and
Brescia, thanks also to the alliances and family connections with the powerful Maggi family.
Napo della Torre In 1265, following the death of Filippo, the Lordship of Milan passed to
Napo della Torre, son of Pagano, who was supported by his brothers Francesco and Paganino. Francesco was named lord of Seprio, while Paganino became podestà of
Vercelli. Pallavicino's revenge was not long in coming and on 29 January 1266 Paganino was assassinated by a band of proscribed Milanese nobles aided by some
Pavia men employed by Pallavicino. Following the killing of his brother, Napo della Torre had the thirteen conspirator nobles beheaded and also gave the order to behead twelve nobles locked up in Milanese prisons following the battle of Tabiago and another twenty-eight nobles locked up in the prisons of
Trezzo sull'Adda. To avoid further intrusions by his now former ally Oberto II Pallavicino, on 23 March 1266 Napo decided to summon the representatives of the cities of the
Lombard League. Once the Pallavicino problem had been resolved, Napo also had to deal with the long-standing dispute regarding the archbishopric of Milan which had begun in 1259. Under pressure from the Pope, on 7 December 1266 Milan decided to accept the nomination of
Ottone Visconti, following which all the Milanese were absolved from excommunication, but as a precaution Ottone remained in
Viterbo. From 1267 to 1274 the lordship of the della Torre family was established, and for the following years Napo and his brother Francesco managed to govern the Lordship in relative tranquility. During this period there was an improvement in relations with the
Kingdom of France, who stipulated better agreements with Milan regarding the wool trade. In April 1270 Milan waged war on
Lodi which fell 3 months later, under the siege of Napo, who became lord of the city. In 1271 due to the continuous wars and the increase in taxes, countless revolts against Milanese rule followed: first Brescia and then Lodi, Como,
Crema,
Cremona and
Novara. After having directed his troops again against
Pavia, on 6 June 1274 Napo signed a peace treaty with Pavia and Novara. depicting the battle of Desio in which the Della Torre family lost their dominance over Milan The rivalry with Ottone Visconti increased and Napo Della Torre decided to send 6000 men to defend the city of Milan. In this period in fact there are episodes of guerrilla warfare by Pavia and rebel factions. Della Torre, however, managed to defeat the Pavia army and kill their commander Goffredo di Langosco. Della Torre also managed to take several prisoners including
Teobaldo Visconti, nephew of the archbishop Ottone and father of
Matteo I Visconti. Ottone then decided to occupy
Castelseprio, but was put to flight by Napo. After having won the important battle of Guazzera in 1276, near Ranco in the Varese area, and subsequently lost the battle of Germignaga, fought for the possession of the fortress of Angera, which however remained in the hands of the Della Torre family. Under the rule of Napo della Torre, Milan was modernized by a large program of public works that radically transformed it, making it the true metropolis of
Northern Italy. Construction began on a church where the Church of
San Bernardino alle Ossa now stands, and two years later construction began on the church of Santi Simone e Giuda. On May 20, 1271, Napo ordered the main streets to be paved, starting with Porta Nuova and Porta Orientale, and in the same year the stretch of canal between Milan and Abbiategrasso was completed. In May 1272, the construction of a tower in the new
Palazzo della Ragione was decided.
Matteo I Visconti In December 1287,
Matteo I Visconti was appointed
Capitano del popolo and immediately revised the municipal statutes, he was then appointed lord of Milan in 1291. In September 1290 the marquis
William VII, of Montferrat marched towards Milan with the della Torre family. Having arrived at
Morimondo, facing the army of Ottone Visconti he retreated, escaped to
Alessandria where however he was captured and locked in a cage, where he remained for a year and a half until his death in 1292. In 1297 Matteo Visconti built the
Castle of Novara and the Visconti chapel in the
Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio and the bell tower which was completed in 1309 and was equipped with the first public clock in Milan.
The return of Della Torre rule The power of the della Torre family returns to the city but they are opposed by part of the population, while Matteo Visconti takes refuge in Nogarola as a guest of the
Scaligeri, lords of
Verona. In May 1303 Visconti occupies
Bellinzona then
Varese and the following year Brescia and then
Martinengo. In the meantime the della Torre family had entered into conflict with Alberto Scotti who they manage to defeat in 1304. On 17 December 1307 Guido della Torre is appointed Captain of the people for a year and then appointed Perpetual Captain on 22 September 1308. In 1311
Guido della Torre, having come into conflict with the archbishop
Cassone della Torre, son of Corrado, his cousin, broke the family unity that had been the strength of the Della Torre dynasty and, after having tried to make the people rebel against the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII, was forced to flee, losing the lordship which returned to the Visconti. Thus the power of the della Torre family over the lordship of Milan definitively fades.
Visconti rule The city dominion returned definitively into Visconti hands only on 20 September 1313 when Matteo Visconti was again appointed lord of Milan for life. The Della Torre, allies of
Pavia, resumed the fight with the Visconti and on 24 September were defeated at
Rho, Lombardy. The Della Torre obtained papal support so much so that on 28 May 1317 the pope deemed Matteo's lordship illegitimate, but the Visconti power continued to increase with the appointment of
Giovanni Visconti as
archbishop of Milan, not accepted however by
Pope John XXII who appointed Aicardo Antimiani of
Novara. New commercial relations were established with the
Republic of Venice and with the
Kingdom of France. On 4 January 1318 Matteo was excommunicated and subsequently the same punishment was also inflicted on
Cangrande I della Scala, lord of
Verona, and Rinaldo dei Bonacolsi, lord of
Mantua. Relations with the papacy remained tense and after not having appeared at the
Papal court in
Avignon on 16 December 1321, the pope ordered the exiled archbishop of Milan, Aicardo di Camodegia, to open a new trial for heresy against Matteo Visconti, his son Galeazzo and many relatives who had already died at the time, such as Ottone Visconti. On 30 March 1322, the Milanese were hit by the
Inquisition and lost their property and rights. Matteo I Visconti, now elderly, 74 years old, retired to
Crescenzago and died on 24 June 1322, leaving the government to his son
Galeazzo I who was appointed lord of Milan on 10 July.
Galeazzo I Visconti The situation in Milan, however, was still turbulent and on 8 November Galeazzo was forced to leave Milan and take refuge in Lodi after some clashes with
Lodrisio Visconti, Francesco da Garbagnate and those Milanese who were seeking an agreement with the Pope. The government of Milan was entrusted to the
Burgundian captain Giovanni di Chatillon, the vicar of
Frederick the Fair who remained in
Lombardy after the defeat of his lord. For fear of the return of the della Torre, on 12 December Galeazzo was recalled to lead the city which was now in the grip of chaos and looting. The Pope waged war on Milan together with the della Torre, managing to take
Monza and declaring Galeazzo a
heretic. In 1323 the papal troops were exhausted and took refuge in Monza which was besieged on 8 August by Marco Visconti. In February 1324 the papal army was defeated by the Milanese at
Vaprio d'Adda. Simone della Torre dies and the commander Raimondo da Cardona is captured, then freed to be able to discuss a peace treaty with the pontiff in Piacenza. In 1325 Galeazzo dedicates himself to the construction of the
Castle of Monza. The work of unification was completed by
Azzone Visconti, son of Galeazzo and nephew of Matteo, who worked to lay the foundations of a structure that would politically coordinate his domains and centralize power in the hands of the dynasty. In 1327, with the death of his father, he remained the sole heir and in opposition to the pontiff, he bought the title of vicar of Milan from
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1332,
Luchino and
Giovanni Visconti, sons of
Matteo I, joined the government of the new vicar in a sort of
triumvirate.
Lodrisio, also member of the Visconti family, who remained outside, staged a series of conspiracies in vain to depose the three; when all his accomplices were arrested by Azzone on 23 November 1332, and locked up in the prisons of Monza (called
the Forni), he was forced to flee to Verona, where, as a guest of
Mastino II della Scala, he wove a series of alliances, among which were the Scaligeri themselves and the Lord of Novara Calcino Tornielli, enemy of the Archbishop
Giovanni. The decisive clash came on 21 February 1339 in the
Battle of Parabiago, won by the
triumvirs.
The Triumvirate in
Pavia, built by Galeazzo II On 11 October 1354 after the death of Archbishop Giovanni Visconti, the Lordship of Milan was divided between his nephews
Matteo II,
Galeazzo II and
Bernabò. On 17 April 1355, Giovanni Visconti, member of the
Oleggio branch of the Visconti family, rebelled against the Visconti of Milan by entering
Bologna and on 20 April he was proclaimed podestà. In August, following the capture of Bologna, Bernabò decided to intervene and retake the city, but without success. The triumvirate was short-lived, in fact on 26 September 1355 Matteo II Visconti died suddenly in his castle in
Saronno. The lordship was divided again between Galeazzo II and Bernabò who respectively obtained the western and eastern parts of the lordship, while their sons were not recognized with any right of succession.
War with the Marquis of Montferrat At the same time as the end of the triumvirate, on 30 October 1355 a new league was born against Milan led by the Marquis of Montferrat, who declared war on Milan on 15 December. 1355 was the year in which the Marquis
John II increased his power, in fact thanks to the protection service provided to
Charles IV during his travel to the Italian peninsula to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome, the Marquis obtained the imperial vicariate of Pavia on 3 June, sharing it with his cousin
Otto, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen. The war began on 23 January 1356 with the occupation of
Asti, but in a short time the Marquis of Montferrat also conquered
Alba,
Cuneo, and also took
Mondovì and
Chieri from the Visconti. On 10 February the podestà of Bologna Giovanni Visconti da Oleggio also came to the aid of the Marquis, who only two months earlier had reached an agreement with Bernabò to divide the power of Bologna. The response of the Visconti was not long in coming and in April Galeazzo, with the help of
Pandolfo II Malatesta, laid siege to Pavia and attacked Montferrat. The siege, however, did not succeed and on 28 May following a surprise attack led by the friar Iacopo Bussolari, the army of Galeazzo II Visconti suffered a serious defeat. The Visconti were soon forced to find allies and on 27 June they formed a league with
James of Piedmont who however asked the two lords of Milan to also intervene against the marquis
Thomas II of Saluzzo. The territories of Mondovì, Morozzo, Cuneo and Cherasco taken from the Visconti were acquired in June 1356 by
Philip II, Prince of Taranto, vicar in Piedmont of the
queen of Naples,
Joanna I. The war continued and in August Bernabò decided to besiege
Castelleone, where however he was defeated. In the meantime
Republic of Genoa rose up and restored the doge
Simone Boccanegra. In the spring Bernabò was authorized by the pope to conquer Bologna, and he also tried to take
Reggio Emilia and
Mantua without success. Another problem for the Visconti was caused by
Konrad von Landau, a military adventurer and an ally of the anti-Visconti league and head of the
Great Company, who in November 1357 began to plunder the surroundings of Milan. Finally on 6 April 1358 in Milan the peace conference opened in which all the Italian states participated including the Republic of Venice and the
County of Savoy. After two months of work, on 8 June 1358 in Milan in Sant'Ambrogio the peace was signed. Following the agreement Novara and Alba returned to the Visconti while Asti and Pavia remained to the
Marquis of Montferrat.
Consolidation of Visconti rule From the initial congregation of cities under the dominion of a single lord, Giovanni and Luchino, but above all
Gian Galeazzo and
Bernabò, through an intense activity of consolidation of their supremacy implemented with the reduction of local autonomies and the attraction into their orbit of the many small rural lordships created a sort of state structure. With Giovanni Visconti, in the mid-
14th century, the first great expansion of the family's possessions took place both with the victory over the
Lords of Verona, the
Scaligeri, and with the submission of
Republic of Genoa and
Bologna; thanks to these extensions,
Gian Galeazzo Visconti managed to obtain in 1395 from the Holy Roman Emperor
Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia the title of duke thus putting an end to the lordship and giving rise to the
Duchy of Milan. == Lords of Milan ==