In August 1311, Francesco I Pico obtained from Emperor Henry VII, during his descent into Italy, the investiture of imperial vicar of Mirandola.

[2] Shortly afterwards, Duke Passerino decided not to respect the agreements made (certis pactis in brevi male servatis) and on Friday 27 November 1321 had Francesco I Pico and his sons Tommasino and Prendiparte arrested, together with Zaccaria Tosabecchi and his brother and son.

[3] On the following Wednesday, the Pico family were imprisoned in the dungeons of Castel d'Ario castle, where they were starved to death after tearing each other to pieces, as in the lugubrious affair of Count Ugolino della Gherardesca described by Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy and which took place 33 years earlier.

[4] Duke Passerino began the siege of the castle of the Pico on Saturday 28 November 1321[5] and lasted just over a month.

In 1328, Niccolò Pico, allied with the Gonzaga and Della Scala who had conquered Mantua, managed to avenge his father: he locked up the Duke Passerino's sons and grandsons in the same tower, starving them to death too.