Cassone della Torre (or ''Casso'', ''Cassono'', ''Castone'', ''Gastone''), also called Mosca (died 20 August 1318) was an Italian medieval condottiero and feudal lord. A member of the Torriani family, he was Archbishop of Milan from 1308 to 1316 and

patriarch of Aquileia This is a list of bishops and patriarchs of Aquileia in northeastern Italy. For the ecclesiastical history of the diocese, see Patriarchate of Aquileia. From 553 until 698 the archbishops renounced Papal authority as part of the Schism of the T ...

from 1317 to 1318.

Biography

Cassone was the second son of Corrado della Torre and grandson of Napo della Torre. In his youth, he stayed in

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

, then ruled by his grand-uncle

Raimondo Raimondo is an Italian given name. Its English equivalent is Raymond. Notable people with the name include: * Raimondo Boucheron (1800–1876), Italian composer, chiefly of sacred music * Raimondo D'Inzeo (1925–2013), Italian show jumping ride ...

: here most members of the family lived in exile from

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

after their arch-rival House of Visconti had been able to seize the power in that city. Cassone was appointed canon of

Cividale Cividale del Friuli (, locally ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity of Udine, part of the Northern Italy, North-Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The town lies above sea-level in th ...

in 1296. When the della Torre were able to return to Milan in 1302, Cassone was appointed canon of the

Cathedral of Milan Milan Cathedral ( ; ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary (), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Dedicated to the Nativity of St. Mary (), it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Archbi ...

. In 1308 he succeeded Francesco da Parma as Archbishop of Milan, being elected by the Chapter of the Cathedral, of Milan, confirmed by

Pope Clement V Pope Clement V (; – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his death, in April 1314. He is reme ...

and consecrated bishop in Milano by Ugaccione Borromeo bishop of Novara on about 12 October 1308. His appointment as Archbishop of Milano spurred a conflict with his cousin Guido della Torre, who was afraid that Cassone could ally with the Visconti against him (two of the archbishop's brothers were married to nephews of Matteo Visconti's wife). In 1309 he took part to a successful papal military expedition against the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

, returning to Milan with great honors. On 1 October 1309 Guido's troops attacked the archbishop's palace in Milan, and imprisoned him. On 29 October 1309 he was exiled from Milan. He moved to

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

where the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

Guido della Torre. Emperor Henry VII appointed Cassone mediator between the claims of the families Torriani and Visconti who were in long conflict for ruling Milan. Cassone find an agreement between the two families but it was not accepted by Guido della Torre; Emperor Henry VII then forced Guido della Torre to flee from Milan and sold the title of imperial vicar for Milan to Matteo I Visconti. Cassone re-entered in Milan and on 6 January 1311 he crowned Henry VII as

King of Italy King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...

. The debt due to the Emperor by the citizens of Milan created dissatisfaction and the Torriani instigated a revolt, which was suppressed by the Visconti, supported by the soldiers of the Emperor. Cassone then fled from Milan. Following the sacking of the episcopal palace in Milan in 1314, he excommunicated Matteo I Visconti. On 31 December 1316 Cassone renounced the title of See of Milan, and was appointed as secular patriarch of Aquileia by

pope John XXII Pope John XXII (, , ; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death, in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Papacy, Avignon Pope, elected by ...

. However, he never took the post

since he died in a fall from horse at

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. There he was buried in the church of Santa Florence; his funerary monument is attributed to Tino da Camaino or Agostino da Siena.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Della Torre, Cassone 14th-century births 1318 deaths Cassone Archbishops of Milan Patriarchs of Aquileia Deaths by horse-riding accident in Italy