Gian Galeazzo Visconti I Duke Of MILAN

Notes:

Gian Galeazzo Visconti (1351 ? September 3, 1402) was the first Duke of Milan and ruled the city for much of the early Renaissance.

Although most famous as Signore of Milan from 1386 to 1402 Gian Galeazzo was born into the branch of the Visconti that possed the signoria of the city of Pavia. In 1385 Gian Galeazzo gained control of Milan by overthrowing his uncle BernabÚ through treacherous means.

A devoted father to his daughter Valentina (wife of Louis, Duke of Orleans and mother of the famous poet, Charles of Orleans), Gian Galeazzo reacted to gossip about Valentina at the French Court by threatening to declare war on France.

Galeazzo's role as a statesman also took other forms. Soon after seizing Milan he took Verona, Vicenza, and Pavia and soon controlled almost the entire Po river valley. He used the bounty of these conquests to buy the title of Duke from the Holy Roman Emperor for the price of 100,000 florins. Galeazzo had dreams of uniting all of northern Italy into one kingdom, and many of the people of Italy supported this ambition. The obstacles to his success included Bologna and especially Florence. In 1394 Gian Galeazzo launched assaults upon these cities. The warfare was extremely costly on both sides, but it was universally believed the Milanese would emerge victorious. In 1395 Bologna fell and the final siege of Florence began. The Florentine leaders, especially Coluccio Salutati worked successfully to rally the people of Florence, but the Florentines were being taxed hard by famine, disease, and poverty. Galeazzo won another victory over the Bolognese at the Battle of Casalecchio on June 26, 1402.

Galeazzo's dreams were to come to naught, however, as he succumbed to a fever in August 10, 1402. He died on September 3. The siege of Florence was lifted and soon his entire empire crumbled as infighting among his successors wracked Milan.

Family/Spouse: Isabelle Of FRANCE. Isabelle (daughter of John II King Of FRANCE and Bonne Of BOHEMIA) was born on 01 Oct 1348; died on 11 Sep 1372. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Valentina VISCONTI was born in 1366 in Milan; died on 04 Dec 1408 in Blois.