Solza castle

According to tradition, when Bartolomeo Colleoni left Solza Castle, his birthplace, he was between 14 and 15 years old: little more than a boy, even for those times. No-one could have predicted then that he was destined to become one of the most famous condottieri of the fifteenth century. Today the same castle appears rather insignificant with its modest fourteenthcentury plan, but it is still worth visiting the small village of Solza, near the river Adda, and use it as starting point for making a historical tour of the castles dotted over the Bergamo plain. Two great powers, the Duchy of Milan and the Republic of Venice, were long-term rivals in this border country.

Pumenengo and Pagazzano castles

The Duchy has left numerous traces of its presence; in particular the strongholds built by the Visconti, including the Castle of Pumenengo and the Castle of Pagazzano. The latest is one of the few castles remaining that preserves an original moat filled with water, and was supposedly the home of Francesco Petrarca, the famous poet. Venice instead entrusted the task of defending the Adda territory and border to Bartolomeo Colleoni, who in the meantime had become one of the great “Gentlemen of War”. Appointed General in Chief of the Republic of Venice (for whom he commanded all land forces), Colleoni was given feudal tenure of a vast portion of land on the plain which was exposed to a threat from the Duchy of Milan.
A journey in discovery of the castles linked to the famous condottiere should definitely start in Solza, where one can imagine the young Bartolomeo, without a father and from a non-wealthy family, dreaming about making his name in the Mercenary troops who crossed Italy following a condottiere. He had plenty of courage and the right physique, judging from portraits of him painted in adulthood, which depicted him as stocky and robust

We do not know if Bartolomeo Colleoni ever returned to see Solza and the places of his childhood. His interests were concentrated on his estate and on the need to strengthen defences. For this purpose, on 29 April 1456 he purchased the ruins of a castle in Malpaga, not far from the river Serio, and immediately started building a strong fortress. In the meantime he made his residence in Martinengo, a town of considerable importance and where a castle offered him a suitable residence. His presence here gave rise to a legend which tells of a golden sword of Colleoni lying hidden among the ancient remains of the castle. Martinengo is without doubt well worth a visit for its numerous historical and artistic remnants, as are both Romano di Lombardia and Urgnano, important strategic towns

Bartolomeo Colleoni strengthened the defences of the Romano Castle, where his wife had been held prisoner by Filippo Maria Visconti, equipping it with artillery, as he also did to Urgnano after receiving it in fief from Venice. But his attention was concentrated mainly on Malpaga, which was both a fortress and elegant residence, and from where the condottiere could guard the nearby border. His forces and his influence were enough to keep Milan at bay.

In Malpaga, Colleoni surrounded himself with a genuine princely court to impress his illustrious guests. He liked to have cultured men close by, and at the same time dedicated himself to other peaceful works, such as building an important network of channels to irrigate the land. A wonderful example of this era is the cycle of frescoes, attributed to Romanino, on the walls of the drawing room on the ground floor of the castle, which illustrates the visit, with processions, dinners and hunting parties, of King Christian of Denmark.

But the memory of Colleoni is universally linked to two famous works of art: his tomb (better known as the Colleoni Chapel), which he commissioned in Upper Bergamo and one of the principal examples of the Lombard Renaissance, and the equestrian statue in Venice, outside the church of Saints John and Paul, a masterpiece by Brunelleschi.