[2] In 1323 John excommunicated him with an accusation of heresy, and Visconti found an ally in the antipope Nicholas V,[2] who give him the title of cardinal.

In 1331 he became bishop and lord of Novara,[1] and in 1339, after Aicardus' death, he triumphantly entered Milan, although Pope Clement VI only issued a bull confirming him in the archbishopric in 1342.

[3] Afraid of his growing strength, in 1350 Florence organized a conference in Arezzo with a papal legate and representatives of other cities to form an alliance against Milan.

[3] In 1351, he sent troops from Milan and Bologna, and from allies in Faenza and Forlì, all led by Bernabò, to lay siege to Imola.

However, he then had many leading Bolognese citizens arrested and tortured, and extracted confessions from them of a conspiracy with Florence to overthrow his rule.