Pier Maria II de' Rossi

In the service of Filippo Maria Visconti, duke of Milan, he fought five times against the Republic of Venice.

When Visconti died, in 1447, Pier Maria sided with Francesco Sforza, moving his lands in the regions of Parma and Piacenza under Milanese suzerainty.

However, when the latter was ousted by his uncle, Ludovico Sforza, the fortunes of the Rossi family started to crumble.

In 1482 an alliance of Milanese troops with those of the rival Sanvitale, Pallavicino and Da Correggio families, led by Gian Giacomo Trivulzio, besieged the Rocca dei Rossi at San Secondo.

Pier Maria resisted gallantly but, after the Milanese started to storm all his other fortresses, surrendered and retired to the castle of Torrechiara, which he had built for his long-time great love, Bianca Pellegrini.