prevent the expansionist aims of the various municipalities in the surrounding territories and other towns, and cities began taking up arms against each other in contests to achieve regional hegemony. Frederick Barbarossa, on the other hand, repudiated the policy of his predecessors by attempting to restore imperial control over the northern Italian municipalities, also on the basis of the requests of some of the latter, who repeatedly asked for imperial intervention to limit Milan's desire for supremacy: in 1111 and 1127 the city conquered, respectively, Lodi and Como, forcing Pavia, Cremona and Bergamo to passivity. To make matters worse the relations between the Empire and the municipalities were further soured by the harsh measures implemented by imperial authorities against the Milanese region. Of these, two contributed the most to fuel anti-imperial sentiment: to try to interrupt the supplies in Milan during one of his descents in Italy, in 1160, the emperor devastated the area north of the city destroying the crops and fruit trees of farmers. In particular, in fifteen days Barbarossa destroyed the countryside of Vertemate, Mediglia, Verano, Briosco, Legnano, Nerviano, Pogliano and Rho. The second event was instead linked to the measures taken by Frederick Barbarossa after the surrender of Milan (1162): the imperial vicar who administered the Milanese countryside after the defeat of Milan forced the farmers of the area to pay a heavy annual tax of foodstuffs for the emperor, which made the population increasingly hostile to imperial power. The first three descents of Frederick Barbarossa in Italy To try to pacify Northern Italy and restore imperial power, Frederick Barbarossa crossed the Alps at the head of his army five times. The first descent, which began in the autumn of 1154 and led only 1,800 men, led the king to besiege and conquer the riotous Asti, Chieri and Tortona and to attack some castles of the Milanese countryside, but not the capital of Milan, given that he did not have sufficient forces. This campaign continued with the convocation of diet of Roncaglia, with which Frederick re-established imperial authority, nullifying, among other things, the conquests made by Milan in previous years, especially with regard to Como and Lodi. The first part of that journey continued along the Via Francigena and ended in Rome with the coronation of Frederick Barbarossa as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Adrian IV (18 June 1155). During his stay in