Photo: This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message. This image is not in the public domain. Please respect the copyright…, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Historic villa / palace
Palazzo Colleoni alla Pace
Palace in Brescia, Italy
At a glance
- Coordinates
- 45°32′24″ N, 10°12′55″ E
History and description
Palazzo Colleoni alla Pace is a historical building in Brescia located at Via della Pace, in the heart of the historic center of the city.
Built in the middle of the 15th century for the Bergamasque condottiere Bartolomeo Colleoni, it was later bequeathed to the Martinengo Colleoni family and, when the dynastic line of the family died out, to the Fathers of Peace, then permanent owners of the palace.
The building, which has been modified several times, is nevertheless one of the best examples of fifteenth-century residential architecture in the city; it also houses the largest and most important cycle of wooden ceiling paintings in the Brescia area.
History
The conditions under which Bartolomeo Colleoni came into possession of land in Brescia, and had a private residence built there, are actually unknown and unclear. However, a fact that is certain and also reported by contemporary sources is that the Bergamasque condottiere received in the city, from the Republic of Venice, "the portion of land north of the old moat (today's Via Pace), included between the districts coming from Porta Palata to the north (Corso Garibaldi), and Porta S. Agata to the south (Via Cairoli)." Bortolo Belotti, Colleoni's biographer, speculates in his work that the Bergamasque had come into possession, at that time, of land consisting of old hovels and gardens, on which the mansion of the condottiero would later be built; In fact, the buildings of that period had become obsolete due to the expansion of the new city walls, which had rendered the inner gate of San Giovanni, at the level of the Pallata Tower, inoperative.
The scholar Fausto Lechi, on the other hand, has theorized that the cession of this plot of land could perhaps be ascribed to 1455, given that in 1467 work on the rebuilding and arrangement of the walls was begun. In these twelve years, from 1455 to 1467, it is possible that Colleoni's palace was built, even if there are no written documents to confirm it. This version, in any case, would also concur with the testimony provided by the chronicler and historian Marin Sanudo, who reports that by 1483 the work on the city fortifications had already been completed. …
Description
Thanks to the already mentioned 17th-century depiction of the palace by the Fathers of Peace, it is possible to reconstruct, at least roughly, the original planimetric and volumetric layout of the Colleoni palace. It originally consisted of a ground floor and two upper floors, each with a horizontal series of windows surmounted by a cornice running along the entire length of the façade in question; of absolute importance, in the context of the courtyard, is the colonnade with five pointed arches, accessed through an entrance hall. The overall effect and overview of the aforementioned courtyard, which was irreparably damaged in later centuries with respect to its original structure, was to be further enhanced by a decorative apparatus made up of numerous frescoes, of which fragments and partial details are still visible. In any case, no other palace or civic building in fifteenth-century Brescia could boast the size and overall opulence of the Colleoni palace. Among the outbuildings of the palace were also large stables for horses, various lodgings, a vast library, and a private chapel.
However, the most important room of the palace must have been the Great Hall, which alone occupied most of the second floor in the eastern wing of the building: it could be accessed by a staircase located at the southern end of the portico, and in all probability it first led to a smaller Hall of Honor. In this sense, it is only possible to speculate, since the construction of the aforementioned theater in the mid-19th century disturbed the layout of this part of the palace: the aforementioned staircase has indeed been lost, as well as at least two bays of the inner loggia and the smaller Hall of Honor, as also reported by Lechi in his work. A hint of the magnificence of the great hall is contained in Da Soldo's chronicle: he reports that in 1465 it bore numerous tapestries and frescoes, as well as a roof of seven horizontal beams, each supporting an imposing chandelier. In any case, the testimony cited above does not mention any pictorial decoration in the wooden coffers of the hall; this would mean that the great decorative cycle of wooden panels contained in the Great Hall was apparently still to be made at that time. …
Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Full article: «Palazzo Colleoni alla Pace».
Photos
Getting there
BresciaTrain, nearest
900 m as the crow flies
Palazzo Colleoni alla Pace
Aeroporto Brescia Montichiari15.4 km
Distances are as the crow flies, not walking or driving.
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Nearby
See on the mapMore historic villas and palaces in Lombardy
Frequently asked questions
Where is Palazzo Colleoni alla Pace?
Palazzo Colleoni alla Pace is in Brescia, in the province of Brescia (Lombardy), Italy. GPS coordinates: 45.53987, 10.21516.
What else is there to see near Palazzo Colleoni alla Pace?
Nearby you’ll find: Pallata Tower, Brescia (100 m away), Bargnani palace (100 m away), Palazzo Carmagnola (200 m away).
Sources and licences
Text. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Data. Wikidata (CC0); opening hours and contacts OpenStreetMap (ODbL).
Photos. Wikimedia Commons, author and licence on every image.
Credits for the 6 photos
- Palazzo Colleoni Martinengo della Pallata ingresso Brescia — This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message. This image is not in the public domain. Please respect the copyright…, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Palazzo Colleoni Martinengo della Pallata fontana e Cupola Ma ria della PaceBrescia — This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message. This image is not in the public domain. Please respect the copyright…, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Capitello Palazzo Colleoni Martinengo della Pallata Brescia — This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message. This image is not in the public domain. Please respect the copyright…, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Palazzo Martinengo della Motella Via Cairoli Brescia — This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message. This image is not in the public domain. Please respect the copyright…, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Raffaello Sanzio — Raphael, Public domain
- Sanzio 00 — Raphael, Public domain
Updated 28 October 2026. All sources and licences