The Life Bartolomeo Colleonl
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H E m aterials I have used fo r the present life of Bar tolomeo Colleon i have been in the main the following . - s I have taken as a foundation the work of Spino , H i toria ’ della vita et fatti dell ecc ele ntissim o Capitano di guerra i netia m . I V Bartolo eo Coglione scritta per M Pietro Spino , n appresso G ratioso Percacci no and the life of “ Coll eon i in II Castello di Cave rnago ei Conti Martinengo ’ Colleoni , memorie storiche dell avvocato Giuseppe Maria 1 88 . Bonomi , Bergamo , Fratelli Bolis 4 Signor Bonomi has a large acquaintance with the archives of the M artinengo m fa ily , and has been instrumental in recovering the house of Colleoni in Bergamo for the municipality . The second of M DCC& & & I I edition Spino , published at Bergamo , , contains two funeral orations and some additional information . The of on Cornazz ano life Spino is founded that by , a poet who ll ni Co eo . lived with at Malpaga The life, written in Latin , is contained in the Thesaurus of G raevius . I have not found it of any great value . I am al s o indebted to a life o f Colleon i by Professor Gabriele Rosa, kindly lent me by the i z v P mfi ce . ‘ of author . H e is well acquainted with the history the time “ ’ ” Th e o f s . which he treat Annali d I talia, by M uratori , s i des have been constantly in my hands , as also the H i to re ” diffi Republiques I taliennes , by S ismondi . There is some culty in correlating th e personal history of Colleoni with the history of his time, because his biographers and panegyrists attribute to him exploits which , in ordinary historians , are to N 0 m referred other people . one who atte pts to write the life o f Colleo n i can dis pense with the magnificently printed I n s itu ti o M a nific Pie a is B r i t ae t t e om & c . work , Pii Loci g g ’ B er omi s Coll e oni s g which contains , al o, will , with th e o f i ts codicils . I found in library at Bergamo abstracts papers in the Venetian archives relating to Colleo n i ; these I had copied , and I have used them in my book . I have paid s its everal visits to Bergamo and neighbourhood , and in the ’ exploration of s ites connected with Colleon i s life have been greatly assisted by Da Ponte ’ s “ Dizionario Odeporico ” Ber 1 8 1 its gamo , 9 , an admirable work of kind Th e bes t authority fo r the visit o f K i n g Christian o f “ D e nmark to I taly I have found to be the H olstein i l h is e e H v tfe d s I . Chronicl , quot d by in H i tory of Christian , 1 h as s publish e d in 5 99 . I t been tran lated for me from the black letter Danish by Mr . Bain of the British M useum , to whom th e best thanks o f the Arund e l Society are d ue . I have been abl e to make som e corrections from the German translation o f th e s ame chronicle in the British Mu seu m . I a m much oblige d to Profes s or H e nry M iddleton and M r . P r ef a ce . v ii Edmund Oldfield for having looked through th e proof f ’ o . sheets , and also to M r . Charles Sayle , St J ohn s College, Cambridge , for assisting me in preparing the index . I t i s possible that many interesting details of Colleon i s e s I life have escaped my r earch . n this case I shall be obliged h mm to anyone w o will co unicate them to me . C & N I NG OS AR B RO . ’ LLE E B E KING S CO G , CAM RIDG , 11 M ar /z 1 61 1 1 . c , 89 L I S T O F I L L U S T RA T I O N S . E CO LLEON I TH E UE E E E H AD AND BUST OF , FROM EQ STRIAN STATU AT V NIC , V B & EROCCH I O . ’ “ COLLEON I M SP I N O S E OF COLLEON I . PORTRAIT OF , FRO LIF E L O LLE N I B & I C O . G U D I ZZAN I . M DA OF , M E COLLEON I H E E . EQU STRIAN PORTRAIT OF , IN HIS OUS AT B RGAMO ’ “ M L E F S P I N O S E COLLEON I . AR ORIA B ARINGS, ROM LIF OF CO LLEON I TH E VE E B & PORTRAIT OF IN FRANCISCAN CON NT, FOUND D HIM E AT MARTIN NGO . TH E LE LP E E . CAST OF MA AGA, N AR B RGAMO ’ LE COLL EON I S & TH E B L B & FACSIMI OF HAND RITING, FROM PU IC LI RAR AT E M B RGA O . TH E L I FE O F B A RTO LO M E O CO L LE O N I . M O N G the many monuments of mediaeval I taly which cover the plains of Lombardy, none is more interesting e of than the castl Of Trezzo , seated on the right bank the Adda about midway on its pass age from the gorges Of the e s e P low r Alp to the broad wat rs of the O . The green rushing river wind s round a promontory which is almos t an C s . s i s island The ma sive astle ri es in the midst . I t built of closely compacted blocks of pudding-ston e mixed with courses f se o brick . I n its pre nt ruined condition it presents an to untidy appearance a close inspection , but in the days of its prime it was faced with smooth slabs of stone o n which - - no foot or s caling ladder could rest . Descending stee ply th e o r into river rising from foundations of precipitous rock , it seeme d to defy attack . I t was connected with th e left bank ' s tron c on struc tion by a triple bridge of g , the lower path leading to the dungeons , the middle way to the quarters Of the garrison , while the upper road would conduct the e e mast r of the castl and his ladies to their chambers . The s was B arnabo ca tle built by Visconti , and the bridge was de s troyed by Carmagnola . From the tower of the keep the eye range s over a vi e w rich i n b e auty and i n hi s torical as s o B ' 2 Th e Lif e of Ba r tolomeo Col/eom . c iati ns T o th e s th e of i s s o . outh plain Lombardy lo t in the e e e haze , watered by canals , t eming with maiz and vine , dott d ' ' e s ca m mzzl z. th e e with countl s p To ast, near at hand , is the far is s hill city of Bergamo , away to the west di cerned th e slender s pire which crown s the marble du omo of M ilan . To the north the eye , after plunging from the giddy height th e s . into the lovely waters Of the Adda , rises to hill The R eseg on e of Lecco bound s th e vi e w ; still neare r are the hills o f which encircle the monastery Of Pontida , the birthplace the s th e Lombard league . Con picuous at edge of the plain is a th e e Coll eon i conical hill topped by a ruin called Torr dei , the of birthplace that noble family , and just below is the church o f o n th e si x tower Solza, a little village Adda about miles e e 1 00 . from Trezzo , wh r Bartolomeo was born in the year 4 The room I n which he s aw the light is s till reverenced by his - fellow countrymen . ~ Colleo n i o f e The were an ancient family B rgamo . The e city was torn asund r , like other I talian towns , by the rival f factions o Guelf and G hibellin e . The Ghib e lline cau s e was s th e su tained by Suardi , the Guelf by the Rivola and the Co lleo n i . e 1 1 0 1 s s A document dat d Bergamo , , bear the igna ’ e Ol ric u s S iv ardus G is ilbe rtu s Co - e e tur of , and l on , the lion s e s th e s n f h ad , which testifie to ancient pelli g o the nam e . I n 1 1 8 2 and 1 1 89 we find a Carpiglio ne Coglione holding an s s s honourable po ition at I ola and at Calu co . The son o f Car i lione w as e G hisalberto w p g Alb rigo , of Alberigo , who as a o f G h i salb e rto o f e Ca r i liata j udge , Galeazzo , Gal azzo p g , who was a powerful captain under Pope U rban V .