He was born in 1338 , the son of  Teodoro I. He was often at war against the Savoy and  the Visconti to conquer the Canavese. Since 1356 he took part , with other nobles, to “Leghe Dell’Alta Italia” against the Visconti . He had 3 sons: Secondotto, Giovanni III and Teodoro II. He died  in 1372.

In 1347 Giovanni II of Monferrato conquered Ivrea with the help of Luchino Visconti , lord of Milan.  The Feudatories of the Canavese didn’t want the Visconti in Ivrea and they addressed themselves to to the Apostolic Legate (sent by the Pope) who started negotiations to avoid a war.  On the 29^th of April 1348 they signed the peace treaty and the Visconti were forbidden to be interested in the  Canavese and Ivrea.

The peace lasted for a short time, because after one year Giovanni II came back with his armies to conquer Caluso and other Canavesan centres. On the 11^th of June they assaulted Caluso; in spite of the worth of  the defenders, the Marquis won and, with his soldiers entered the town devastated by the war. In this moment Giovanni Visconti , the archbishop of Milan , intervened as a  peacemaker;  on the 25^th of September 1349 he managed to have an agreement approved  wich was then ratified on  the 11^th of October in the Castle of Ciriè.

The agreement divided Ivrea in two parts: the first went to the  marquis of Monferrato, the second  to the  Count of Savoy. Giovanni of Monferrato and Amedeo IV met  in the Communal  Palace in Ivrea and one gave the other the keys of the city. This situation continued for many years until the relationships  between the Monferrato and the Savoy become colder . In 1356 Giacomo D’Acaia  signed an agreement with the Visconti who accepted not to hinder his conquests: with a sudden attack on  the first of September 1356 he conquered Ivrea. Amedeo VI of Savoy didn’t accept this initiative and he threatened them with war. Giacomo D’Acaia, in January 1357, made an act of  submission to Amedeo; but he didn’t return to Giovanni of Monferrato his half  part of  the city and  since the 23th of February 1357 he has remained the only lord of Ivrea.