Galeazzo II Visconti

Galeazzo II Visconti
Lord of Milan
Galeazzo II Visconti
Galeazzo II
Coat of arms
Reign1349 – 1378
PredecessorGiovanni
SuccessorBernabò
Bornc. 1320
Died4 August 1378
Noble familyVisconti
SpouseBianca of Savoy
Issue
FatherStefano Visconti
MotherValentina Doria

Galeazzo II Visconti (c. 1320 – 4 August 1378) was a member of the Visconti dynasty and a ruler of Milan, Italy. His most notable military campaigns were against Pope Gregory XI, around 1367. These battles fought between the papacy and the Visconti family ultimately ended in a peace treaty. Politically active, he expanded the power of his family, where the Visconti first became hereditary rulers of Milan starting in 1349. He is remembered in conjunction with his patronage of intellectuals and writers, from his sponsorship of Petrarch to the founding of the University of Pavia in 1361. Galeazzo II Visconti, and his brother Bernabò, are credited with the institution of the Quaresima Torture Protocol, a vicious means of torture.