Matteo I Visconti
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Matteo I Visconti (1250–1322) was the second of the Milanese Visconti family to govern Milan. Matteo was born to Teobaldo Visconti and Anastasia Pirovano.
Visconti, Matteo Magno
The bust and coat-of-arms of Matteo Visconti at the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio, in Milan. It is located on the outer wall of the chapel of St. Thomas, also known as Visconti Chapel. Visconti had it constructed in 1297 when he was 47 years old, and at this time his portrait was carved.
A plaque on the Osii Loggia in Piazza Mercanti ("Merchant square") in Milan, built in 1316 by Scoto da San Gimignano for Matteo I Visconti. Picture by Giovanni Dall'Orto
Visconti of Milan
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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 Visconti Lordship of Milan was the Archbishop Ottone, who wrested control of the city from the rival Della Torre family in 1277.
Depiction of the biscione swallowing a child, the coat of arms of the House of Visconti, on the Archbishop's palace in Piazza Duomo in Milan, Italy
1 March 1162, Ottone Visconti is the first Milanese appearing in the list of authorities surrendering to the Barbarossa after the capitulation of the city (19th-century engraving)
21 January 1277, after the victory obtained against the Della Torre in Desio, Archbishop Ottone Visconti enters Milan (14th-century fresco in the Rocca Borromeo di Angera)
Petrarch lived in Milan from 1353 to 1361, providing first-hand accounts from the Visconti court in his letters (portrait by Altichiero da Verona)