Gian Galeazzo Visconti (16 October 1351-3 September 1402) was the Lord of Milan from 1378 to 1395 and its first duke from 1395 to 1402. He succeeded Galeazzo II of Milan and preceded Gian Maria Visconti.
Biography[]
Gian Galeazzo Visconti was the son of Galeazzo II of Milan and Bianca of Savoy, born in 1351. Through his mother, he was descended from Andronicus II of Byzantium and the House of Palaiologos. Visconti owned the city of Pavia at first, but in 1385 he took over Milan from his uncle Bernabo Visconti through treachery. His uncle was poisoned while in jail in Trezzo, leaving Gian Galeazzo as the lone Lord of Milan. Visconti married Isabella de Virtus, a member of the House of Valois, and his daughter Valentina Visconti married Louis de Orleans (who would play a role in the Hundred Years War). After Isabella died in childbirth in 1373, he married Caterina Visconti and his sons Gian Maria and Filippo Maria would be hers. Visconti took Verona, Vicenza, and Padua after taking over Milan, and Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia sold him the title of Duke of Milan for 100,000 florins in 1395.
In 1402, Visconti campaigned against Bologna and Florence, two obstacles to his rule. He won the Battle of Casalecchio against Bologna on 26 June 1402, but he died in Melegnano in September.