Death of an ‘honourable’ Italian military leader
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| Bartolomeo Colleoni spent virtually the whole of his military career in the service of Venice |
Colleoni spent most of his life in the pay of the republic of Venice, defending his home city of Bergamo against invaders but also leading Venetian armies in other military action.
He is remembered as one of the most decent condottieri of his era, carrying out charitable works and agricultural improvements in Bergamo and the surrounding area when he was not involved in military campaigns.
Condottieri were the leaders of troops, who worked for the powerful ruling factions, often for high payments.
Colleoni's rise to power is remarkable given his traumatic early years. He was born around 1400 in the small village of Solza , near Bergamo, to a family of minor local nobility.
His childhood was violently disrupted when his father, Paolo, was murdered by his own cousins during a bitter dispute over the family estate.
Left with little inheritance, a teenage Colleoni realised that his only path to survival and advancement lay in the military. He began his martial training in Piacenza and launched his professional career as a soldier of fortune at the age of just 15.
Colleoni was unusual because he remained steadfast to one employer, the Republic of Venice, for most of his career. Bergamo was under the control of Venice between 1428 and 1797.
During a period of peace between Venice and Milan, Colleoni worked briefly for Milan but the rulers never fully trusted him and eventually he was arrested and imprisoned. On his release, he returned to work for Venice and subsequently stayed faithful to them.
During a period of peace between Venice and Milan, Colleoni worked briefly for Milan but the rulers never fully trusted him and eventually he was arrested and imprisoned. On his release, he returned to work for Venice and subsequently stayed faithful to them.
Colleoni was blessed with a brilliant tactical mind, becoming one of the 15th century's most celebrated military strategists by revolutionising battlefield technology. He was a pioneer in the use of field artillery, successfully utilising light, highly mobile cannons positioned at the rear of his troops to break enemy lines.
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| The equestrian statue of Colleoni in Venice's Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo |
Towards the end of his life he lived with his family at his castle, Castello di Malpaga, to the south of Bergamo, where he established a vibrant Renaissance court.
At Malpaga, he surrounded his family with prominent humanist scholars, poets, and artists. He also proudly displayed his infamous and bold coat of arms, which featured a literal pun on his surname - coglione, meaning testicles - a symbol he wore proudly as a badge of raw virility and courage.
Together with his wife, Tisbe Martinengo, Colleoni raised eight daughters. Because he lacked a male heir, the family name effectively ended with him, prompting his intense focus on cementing a lasting legacy through monumental architecture.
He later turned his attention to designing a building to house his own tomb. This has given Bergamo’s Città Alta, the upper town, its most ornate and celebrated building, the Cappella Colleoni (Colleoni Chapel).
Bartolomeo Colleoni left money to Venice in his will with a request that a statue of himself be erected in Piazza San Marco after his death. As there was a rule that no monuments were allowed in the Piazza, the statue, made by Andrea del Verrocchio, was eventually placed opposite the Scuola di San Marco in Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo.
Closer to home, he used the immense wealth he earned from Venetian military contracts to finance major public infrastructure projects. Most notably, he spent a significant portion of his fortune restoring the ancient Roman baths at Trescore Balneario, transforming them into a functional site to benefit the health and wellbeing of local citizens.
Upon his death on November 2, 1475, he also bequeathed a massive sum of 100,000 ducats to the Republic of Venice specifically to fund their ongoing campaigns against the Ottoman Empire, proving his civic devotion outlived his battlefield days.
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| The Colleoni Chapel is a Renaissance gem |
The Colleoni Chapel - Cappello Colleoni - is universally recognized as one of the finest masterpieces of Italian Renaissance architecture. Designed by architect Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, this striking mausoleum has often been compared to an intricate, oversized jewel box. Amadeo utilized a dazzling geometric facade of polychrome pink, white, and black marble lozenges, tyled to harmonise with the northern doorway of the adjacent Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The chapel's interior bridges Late Gothic craftsmanship and high-Baroque artistry. The central focus is Colleoni's magnificent two-tier marble sarcophagus, adorned with relief sculptures of biblical scenes and triumphantly surmounted by a towering, gilded wooden equestrian statue of the commander himself. True to his final wishes, the leader was laid to rest in the lower sarcophagus, where his remains still rest alongside a smaller tomb housing his beloved teenage daughter, Medea. The chapel's dome and lunettes showcase sweeping, vibrant frescoes painted centuries later by the Venetian master Giambattista Tiepolo. Woven into the wrought-iron gate is the Colleoni family coat of arms, which features a literal depiction of three testicles, coglione - a bawdy pun on his surname. Centuries of superstition dictate that rubbing this crest at midnight brings good luck and bravery, leaving that exact spot highly polished and brightly discoloured by millions of passing travellers.
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| The 'Doors of the Dead' in Via alla Rocca reflect local superstitions around the souls of the dead |
November 2 is All Souls Day, or the Day of the Dead, in Italy, when people visit the graves of their loved ones. Many areas observe their own rituals and have special foods, such as the slightly macabre ossi dei morti (bones of the dead), which are traditional biscuits eaten on All Souls Day in the Veneto region. In northern Italy, some areas bake pan dei morti - a spiced biscuit-like cookie made with crushed amaretti, flour, sugar, egg whites, dried fruits, and spices. The same cultural obsession with death and superstition probably lies behind a distinct architectural phenomenon found in Bergamo's medieval Città Alta. Along the narrow, winding Via alla Rocca, the street that leads from Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe to the Rocca di Bergamo, a former fortress, there are some unusual, narrow, pointed gothic doorways that have been completely bricked up. These are known as Le Porte del Morto - the Doors of the Dead. According to local tradition, the truth of which is disputed by some, these were secondary doors to residential buildings that were supposedly opened exclusively to carry out the coffin of a deceased family member. It was considered incredibly bad luck for the living and the dead to cross the same threshold. Once the body was taken out to the cemetery, the door was immediately walled up with bricks to physically and symbolically block the spirit of the deceased from finding its way back into the home.
Also on this day:
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Sources & Further Reading
- Treccani.it: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 27: Colleoni, Bartolomeo
- Britannica.com: Bartolomeo Colleoni: Italian Mercenary, Military Leader & Strategist
- World Monuments Fund: The Restoration of the Bartolomeo Colleoni Monument, Venice
- VisitBergamo.net: The Colleoni Chapel (Cappella Colleoni) Architectural Profile & History
- Castello di Malpaga: Official Records of the Colleoni Estate and Renaissance Court
- Comune di Solza: Official Municipal Registry and Birthplace History of Bartolomeo Colleoni
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