Castello di Malpaga

The Castle of Malpaga was built in the 14th century as a simple military fortress. After being abandoned and ceded to the Municipality of Bergamo, it was purchased in 1456 by Bergamasque ‘condottiero’ and military leader Bartolomeo Colleoni, who had recently been appointed commanding general of the Republic of Venice. Colleoni enhanced the property by commissioning additional rooms and valuable frescoes, transforming it into a courtly noble residence, surrounded and well-protected by two moats and the outbuildings in which the six hundred soldiers of his personal army, called the ‘Colleonesca’, were housed.

The elegant courtyard of honour and the Banquet Hall, with its sixteenth-century narrative cycle illustrating the visit of King Christian I of Denmark in 1471, host genuine ‘period snapshots’, created by masters of realism from Lombard, Marcello Fogolino and ‘Il Romanino’. The ‘piano nobile’ first floor displays refined 15th-century frescoes in the ‘courtly Gothic’ style, executed by French craftsmen from Burgundy, and 16th-century paintings of a sacred and mythological nature by Lattanzio Gambara, Bonifacio Bembo and Giambattista Castello. The classical mythological scenes by Pietro Ricchi from Lucca that adorn some of the reception rooms on the ground floor are particularly striking and noteworthy.

Upon the death of Bartolomeo Colleoni in 1475, Castello di Malpaga was inherited by his nephews and remained in the possession of the Martinengo Colleoni family until 1885, when the Castle was purchased by the Roncalli Counts. In 1924, it became the property of the Crespi family. Since 1982, it has been owned by Malpaga S.p.A.

Facilities and services at Castello di Malpaga
The Castle of Malpaga is open for guided tours and audio-guide visits on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays. A variety of thematic activities are also proposed for all age groups, including night-time tours, visits with period costumes, family activities, historical dinners, birthday parties, hen and stag nights, school workshops for pre-school, primary and secondary school students, educational tours of the farm, tulip picking initiatives, bistro facilities and picnics. The Castle is also available for private group visits, corporate events, private events and weddings.