There are many reminders, instead, of the “condottiere” Bartolomeo Colleoni, who was also commander of Venice’s armies.

Solza, on the Bergamask plain, is home to the Malpaga Castle, Colleoni’s birthplace.

Colleoni transformed this castle into a powerful bastion to defend the border of the State of Milan and later into a splendid residence when he left the army.

But it is in Bergamo, in the heart of the old hilltop city, that his tomb is found. Better known as the Colleoni Chapel, now it is also also the final resting place of his daughter Medea, who lies alongside him. The Chapel is one of the finest and most celebrated works of the Renaissance in Lombardy. The house that the “condottiere” turned into his home stands a short distance away, along the old road known as “Corsarola” and now dedicated to Bartolomeo Colleoni.