Corrado della Torre, also called Mosca (c. 1251 – 24 October 1307) was an Italian medieval politician and condottiero, a member of the

Torriani The House of Della Torre (Torriani or Thurn) were an Italian noble family who rose to prominence in Lombardy during the 12th–14th centuries, until they held the lordship of Milan before being ousted by the Visconti. History The family origina ...

family.

Biography

Corrado was the son of Napo della Torre and Marguerite of Baux, a Provençal noblewoman. Around 1266 he was ''

podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...

'' of

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

and in 1277 he took part in the

battle of Desio The Battle of Desio was fought on 21 January 1277 between the Della Torre and Visconti families for the control of Milan and its countryside. The battlefield is located near the modern Desio, a commune outside the city in Lombardy, Northern It ...

, in which he was captured and imprisoned in the Castello Baradello, near Como, together with his father and brothers. Napo died there in 1278, while Corrado and his brother were later able to escape. He became governor of Istria in 1277–1278 and 1293–1297, and, in 1293, ''

'' of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

, all under the aegis of his uncle Raimondo, then

patriarch of Aquileia The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certain ...

. In 1284–1285 he took part in the defence of Trieste, besieged by the Venetians. In 1289 he fought against Asti alongside

William VII of Montferrat Guillaume VII de Montferrat. William VII (c. 1240 – 6 February 1292), called the Great Marquis ( it, il Gran Marchese), was the twelfth Marquis of Montferrat from 1253 to his death. He was also the titular King of Thessalonica. Biography ...

. In 1302 he participated in the anti- Visconti alliance which forced

Matteo Visconti 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. In 1287, Matteo's uncle Ottone Visconti, archbishop and first lord of Milan, nomina ...

to leave

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, which was returned to the della Torre. In 1305 he led an expedition against Matteo in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

, defeating him. Two years later, Visconti set a plot to kill Corrado and his cousin

Guido Guido is a given name Latinised from the Old High German name Wido. It originated in Medieval Italy. Guido later became a male first name in Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Switzerland. The mea ...

, but the attempt failed; Corrado died in October 1307, at

. He was buried in the church of San Francesco Grande. Among his sons,

Cassone A cassone (plural ''cassoni'') or marriage chest is a rich and showy Italian type of chest, which may be inlaid or carved, prepared with gesso ground then painted and gilded. ''Pastiglia'' was decoration in low relief carved or moulded in ges ...

(or Gastone) was

Archbishop of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lon ...

from 1308 to 1316 and

from 1317 to 1318.

Sources

Page at the ''Dizionario biografico degli Italiani''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torre, Corrado 1250s births 1307 deaths Corrado 13th-century condottieri 14th-century condottieri Military personnel from Milan