In 1411 he returned to Forlì as co-lord with his cousin Giorgio, but he was again imprisoned in Imola where he remained until 1424, when he was freed by the Visconti of Milan.
Eleven years later a popular revolt ousted the Papal governor, and Antonio could take possession of Forlì.
Allied with the Visconti then in war against Pope Eugene IV, he managed to gain Forlimpopoli and other castles, but the peace between Rome and Milan stripped him off of all of them.
In 1436 he was also forced to cede Forlì to Francesco Sforza, and went to exile in Ferrara.
Two years later he regained the seigniory and maintained it despite the attacks of Papal-Visconti condottieri like Niccolò Piccinino and Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta.