It will be he, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, known for founding the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo and transporting the Candoglia marbles to Milan, who will be the proponent of territorial expansion by unifying vast Visconti domains in Lombardy, then conquering much of Piedmont, Veneto,Emilia, andUmbria.
Tuscany resisted him, of which only Pisa and Siena capitulated; finally victory over Florence, a die-hard enemy, would be achieved thanks to condottieri such as Jacopo dal Verme and Facino Cane.
Remarkable diplomatic activity, which will also allow the marriage of his daughter Valentina to Louis of Orleans, brother of King Charles VI.
Upon the death of his father Galeazzo II, he became Lord of Pavia in 1378 .
It was in the year 1395 when theEmperor ‘s lieutenantWenceslas during a sumptuous ceremony in the parvis of the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, imposed the biretta of the first Duke of Milan on the head of Gian Galeazzo. He who during the previous year had worked hard to achieve this goal: he had sent his own ambassador to Bohemia to the emperor’s court with a request that he be granted this title, accompanied by a promise to pay a large fortune into the imperial coffers. And his ambassador and relative – Friar Pietro Filargo da Candia – would also gain much from the negotiations: at first appointed archbishop of Milan, then cardinal, finally ascending to the papal throne under the name Alexander V.
In 1402 Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the architect of the Visconti hegemony, died of the plague in Melegnano Castle where he had gone to take refuge, in vain, in fear of contagion of the disease.
According to his wish written in his will, he will be buried in the Certosa of Pavia while his heart will be preserved in the Basilica of San Michele also in Pavia.
The title and Lordship of the territories passed to his eldest son, 13-year-old Giovanni Maria, under the guardianship of his mother, Regent Caterina.
Learn more about the writer Giovanna Ferrante.
Did you know that Gian Galeazzo started the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo? If you want to learn more about the Duomo, its construction and its countless statues, don’t miss our“Online Course: the Duomo between art and history,“ check our calendar and register!
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