Why did Louis IV travel to Italy in 1327?

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Louis IV traveled to Italy in 1327 to challenge the authority of Pope John XXII, who had refused to crown him emperor and had declared him a heretic on political grounds.1

Supported by the Ghibellines, Louis sought to assert his imperial rights directly within Italy. During this expedition, he accepted the iron crown of Lombardy in Milan in May 1327 and was subsequently offered the imperial crown in Rome by representatives of the Roman populace in January 1328. This act served as an emergency measure to secure his title despite papal opposition. Additionally, the expedition was part of a broader conflict between the Holy Roman Empire and the papacy, as Louis aimed to counter the pope's military and diplomatic efforts to uproot Ghibellinism in the region.12