Cappella Colleoni

Address Piazza del Duomo, Città Alta

Built between 1470 and 1476 as a mausoleum for the condottiere Bartolomeo Colleoni, this chapel is one of the finest examples of Lombard Renaissance architecture in existence. The facade is a riot of coloured marble — red, white, and green — carved with reliefs, statues, and ornamental medallions in a style that has no parallel in northern Italy.

The interior holds the sarcophagus of Colleoni himself, elevated on a plinth under an equestrian statue gilded in gold, and that of his daughter Medea. Tiepolo painted the ceiling fresco — a late addition that sits oddly with the 15th-century stonework but is worth looking up for anyway. The chapel is free to enter and sits directly behind the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore on Piazza del Duomo. It is consistently overlooked by visitors who spend all their time in the basilica next door.

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A story
Bartolomeo Colleoni was the most celebrated mercenary general of 15th-century Italy — so famous that Venice paid him 100,000 ducats a year just to stay loyal. He spent his fortune on this chapel, which was completed in 1476, and lies inside beneath an equestrian statue. A persistent local legend claims that the three testicles visible on his coat of arms account for the Venetian word colleoni — which is not quite true, but it makes for a memorable story about a man who valued his reputation above all else.