Biography

He was the son of Pietro, of the powerful House of Visconti

House of Visconti

Visconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. There are two distinct Visconti families: The first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia where they became rulers of Gallura...

 of Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, and Antiochia Crivelli.

After a 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 the other cousin, Marco

Marco Visconti

Marco Visconti is a musician, known for his work with the Italian band XP8.-Biography:Visconti was born in Rome, Italy....

, he was instrumental in the imprisonment of Galeazzo and his son Azzone at Monza

Monza

Monza is a city and comune on the river Lambro, a tributary of the Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy some 15 km north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of Monza and Brianza. It is best known for its Grand Prix motor racing circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.On June...

. When the two were freed, Lodrisio fled to his possessments of Seprio

Castelseprio

Castelseprio was the site of a Roman fort in antiquity, and a significant Lombard town in the early Middle Ages, before being destroyed and abandoned in 1287. It is today preserved as an archaeological park in the modern comune of Castelseprio, near the modern village of the same name...

.

Azzone besieged him and destroyed his castle, but Lodrisio was able to escape to Vicenza

Vicenza

Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

, being hired by Mastino II della Scala

Mastino II della Scala

Mastino II della Scala 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 brother Alberto II were associated in the rule of Verona. Soon, however, Mastino's...

, lord of Verona

Verona

Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

. In the January of 1339 he mustered a large army, mostly from Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, with 2,500 cavalry, 800 infantry and 200 crossbowmen: baptized Compagnia di San Giorgio

Compagnia di San Giorgio

The Compagnia di San Giorgio was the name of several companies of mercenaries in Italy during the 14th century.-History:A first company under this name was founded by Lodrisio Visconti, usurper of the title of lord of Seprio in northern Italy, in 1339...

("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 however defeated in the early February at the Battle of Parabiago

Battle of Parabiago

-Background:Lodrisio Visconti set out for Lombardy in the late January 1339, defeating the Milanese in Rivolta d'Adda, and later conquering Cernusco sul Naviglio, Sesto di Monza and Legnano, where he was joined by the Scaliger troops. Luchino set off to meet the Compagnia with his citizen militia...

. He was captured and, together with his son Ambrogio, imprisoned within an iron cage in the castle of San Colombano. Here he remained for ten years, when he was freed by the new Milanese lord, archbishop Giovanni Visconti. The latter's son Galeazzo II

Galeazzo II Visconti

-External links:*...

 appointed him as commander of the troops in the reconquest of Piedmont, in which he distinguished in the 1356 great victory against the anti-Visconti league, who had hired the mercenary Grand Company of Konrad von Landau.

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