BEYOND THE
CAVALIER

One of the most famous mercenary captains of the fifteenth century, Colleoni (1395-1475) linked his life to Bergamo and the Venetian Republic. A skilled warrior, but also a man of vision, he left behind works of art, institutions, and foundations that still bear his name today. A patron and philanthropist, he wanted his memory to be linked not only to military glory but also to the care of the city and its community.

BIOGRAPHY

Bartolomeo Colleoni died on November 3, 1475, in Malpaga Castle. He was born in Solza, near Bergamo, probably in 1395, as can be deduced from the inscription on the slab placed next to his body in the tomb,

(generalis invictus / vixit annos lxxx / imperavit iiii et xx / obiit. iii. novembris / cccclxxv supra / mille).

Colleoni began his military career at the age of fourteen in the retinue of Filippo Arcelli, lord of Piacenza. From 1418 to 1429, he served Giovanna II, queen of Naples, who granted him a personal coat of arms consisting of two lion heads with wide-open jaws joined by two silver bands. He later fought for Florence against Lucca.

In 1431, Bartolomeo began serving the Republic of Venice under the command of Carmagnola, excelling as a tactician in mountain warfare in Valtellina and Valcamonica, and in subsequent battles against the Duchy of Milan to defend the territories of Bergamo and Brescia.

The 1440s saw him play a leading role, amid alternating political fortunes—including imprisonment under the Visconti—and several changes of allegiance, in the wars between Milan and Venice that ended with the Peace of Lodi in 1454. This earned him, in 1455, the title of Captain General of the Serenissima and the granting of extensive fiefdoms in the Bergamo area. Arbitrator of the military and political balance on the western border of the State of Terra, in order to strengthen his reputation, he engaged in various military projects and diplomatic alliances (including one with the Angevins, which earned him the right to add the Angevin coat of arms to his own) to weaken the Duke of Milan.

In 1456, he purchased Malpaga Castle, which was strategically located for controlling the border between Milan and Venice. The ancient fortress was restored, enlarged, fortified, and embellished with rich pictorial ornamentation. From 1458 onwards, it became the main residence of the commander and his court. In the complex and varied system of his residences, spread throughout the Po Valley as well as Bergamo and Brescia, Malpaga also symbolically represented the power and wealth of Bartolomeo Colleoni, becoming the center of his patronage and hospitality, welcoming diplomats, humanists, and rulers (memorable in 1474 was the visit of King Christian I of Denmark on his way to Rome).

A skilled military strategist—he was one of the first to use light artillery in battle—Colleoni was also a prudent administrator of his vast real estate holdings, which he had acquired through concessions and expanded through shrewd acquisitions. He used his wealth to modernize agriculture and introduce significant innovations in water management and policy. A patron and philanthropist, he linked his life to the Serenissima and Bergamo, leaving religious and civil buildings, works of art, and institutions to the city and the territory, which still bear his name today.

In 1466, he established the Magnifica Pietà Colleoni (now known as Luogo Pio della Pietà Istituto Bartolomeo Colleoni) with an inter vivos donation aimed at providing dowries for young women from Bergamo.

Colleoni had eight daughters, for whom he devised a shrewd marriage policy. Ursina, Caterina, and Isotta married three members of the powerful Martinengo family of Brescia. The children of Ursina, the eldest daughter, would inherit the greatest wealth and continue the family name (Martinengo Colleoni).

With his will and codicil dictated on his deathbed (on October 27 and 31, 1475), Bartolomeo Colleoni organized his family's succession in detail, allocated his back pay to the Venetian Republic for defense against the Turks, and requested that a monument of him on horseback be placed in St. Mark's Square. The statue was entrusted by the government of the Republic of Venice to Andrea del Verrocchio, but it was completed by Alessandro Leopardi and erected in Campo San Giovanni e Paolo. The Luogo Pio della Pietà was tasked with the completion, maintenance, and perpetual administration of the Colleoni Chapel, his mausoleum.

ARTISTIC AND FAMILY TESTIMONIES:

The Colleoni Chapel, one of the most important monuments of Lombard Renaissance architecture.

The Commentarium della vita del Capitano (Commentary on the Life of the Captain), compiled by the humanist Antonio Cornazzano at the court of Malpaga in 1473, while Colleoni was still alive, is a literary monument to his deeds and virtues. The codex, magnificently crafted for the City of Bergamo in fine parchment and lavishly decorated with gold and silver, is preserved in the Angelo Mai Civic Library.

The portrait by Giovan Battista Moroni (1566), the star of the exhibition at the Accademia Carrara, is the most famous image of the commander. The work, on canvas, is preserved at the Luogo Pio della Pietà Colleoni.

The portrait painted by Giovan Battista Moroni (1566), the star attraction at the exhibition at the Accademia Carrara, is the most famous image of the military leader. The work, on its original canvas, is kept at the Luogo Pio della Pietà Colleoni.

His equestrian statue, created by Verrocchio and Leopardi (1480-88), is considered one of the masterpieces of the Renaissance and stands imposingly in Venice.