Lodrisio Visconti (c. 1280 – 1364) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

condottiero Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

Biography

He was the son of Pietro, of the powerful

Visconti of Milan The Visconti of Milan are a noble Italian family. They rose to power in Milan during the Middle Ages where they ruled from 1277 to 1447, initially as Lords then as Dukes, and several collateral branches still exist. The effective founder of the V ...

, and Antiochia Crivelli. After military training under his father, he helped his cousin Matteo Visconti and the latter's son Galeazzo in the reconquest of Milan against the Torriani. Later, together with another cousin, Marco, he was instrumental in the imprisonment of Galeazzo and his son

Azzone Azzone (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northeast of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 458 and an area of .All dem ...

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

. When the two were freed, Lodrisio fled to his territory of Seprio. Azzone besieged him and destroyed his castle, but Lodrisio was able to escape to

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

, being hired by

Mastino II della Scala Mastino II della Scala (1308 – 3 June 1351) was lord of Verona. He was a member of the famous Scaliger family of Northern Italy. He was the son of Alboino I della Scala and Beatrice da Correggio. At the death of Cangrande I, he and his broth ...

, lord of

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

. In 1339 he mustered a large army, mostly from

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, with 2,500 cavalry and 1000 infantry, baptized '' Compagnia di San Giorgio'' ("Company of St. George"). It was the first organized ''compagnia'' of mercenaries led by an Italian condottiero. After invading the territory of Milan, Lodrisio's army was defeated in early February at the

Battle of Parabiago __NOTOC__The Battle of Parabiago was fought in February 1339 near Parabiago, in Lombardy, northern Italy, between the Milanese army and the Compagnia di San Giorgio, St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti. A renowned condottie ...

. He was captured and, together with his son Ambrogio, imprisoned in an iron cage in the castle of San Colombano. Here he remained for ten years, when he was freed by his cousin Matteos son who was now the new Milanese lord, archbishop Giovanni Visconti. The latter's nephew Galeazzo II appointed him as commander of the troops in the reconquest of Piedmont, during which he distinguished himself in the great victory in 1356 against the anti-Visconti league, who had hired the mercenary Grand Company of

Konrad von Landau Konrad Wirtinger von Landau (died 22 April 1363), known in Italy as Conte Lando, was a German military adventurer and condottiero who was active in north and central Italy. He was born the eldest son of Count Eberardo III in the ancient Swabian vi ...

. He lived at the court of Galeazzo until his death in 1364.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Visconti, Lodrisio 1280s births 1364 deaths 14th-century condottieri Lodrisio