Equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni — Attraction in Venice

Bartolomeo Colleoni (1400-1475) was Lombardy-born general who served the Republic of Venice and Duchy of Milan in the 15th century wars on the Italian peninsula. A skilled mercenary, Colleoni was reputedly an evenhanded overlord who improved agricultural methods and was active in charity. Nonetheless, it was his will that secured his place in history.

Colleoni left approximately 650,000 ducats in gold and land to Venice to end the Turkish War. He had one condition. The Republic needed to erect an equestrian statue of Colleoni in Piazza San Marco. The Republic, however, had a strict “no statue” rule for the main square – which even extended to image of St. Mark himself. But the money was too rich to pass up. A bronze statue by Andrea del Verrocchio was erected — but in the nearby Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo a Venezia opposite La Scuola Grande di San Marco. The School of St. Marks. It was a shoddy sleight of hand by some savvy...

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Colleoni left approximately 650,000 ducats in gold and land to Venice to end the Turkish War. He had one condition. The Republic needed to erect an equestrian statue of Colleoni in Piazza San Marco. The Republic, however, had a strict “no statue” rule for the main square – which even extended to image of St. Mark himself. But the money was too rich to pass up. A bronze statue by Andrea del Verrocchio was erected — but in the nearby Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo a Venezia opposite La Scuola Grande di San Marco. The School of St. Marks. It was a shoddy sleight of hand by some savvy...

En el incomparable marco del Campo San Giovanni e Paolo, junto a la Basílica de San Zanipolo y a la Scuola Grande di San Marco, y mirando al río Dandolo, encontramos este magnífico monumento ecuestre, que rinde homenaje al condottiero Bartolomeo Colleoni, ex capitán general de la República y mecenas de la misma. Diseñado por Verrocchio, el escultor no pudo ver su trabajo concluido, ya que se presentó al público en 1506, casi veinte años después de su fallecimiento, siendo finalizado por el escultor Alessandro Leopardi. La obra, fuertemente idealizada, está inspirada en el Gattamelata de Donatello, y a pesar de su perfección, varios autores señalan que de haber podido ser rematada por el propio Verrocchio hubiera resultado aún más magnífica de lo que es. Esculpida en bronce, merece especial atención que reparemos en todo el entramado de músculos y venas que nos muestra el animal, ya que Verrocchio fue un gran estudioso de la anatomía de los caballos. Destacar también que la escultura solo cuenta con tres apoyos. Magnífica obra que, sin duda, merece que le...