Exterior

The Cappella Colleoni was built in 1472-1476 as the personal shrine for the famous condottiere Bartolomeo Colleoni, a member of one of the most outstanding families of the city, and his beloved daughter Medea. The site chosen was that of the sacristy of the nearby church of Santa Maria Maggiore, which was demolished by Colleoni’s soldiers.

The design was entrusted to Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, whose plan respected the style of the church. The fa�ade is characterized by the use of tarsia and polychrome marble decorations in white, red and black lozenges. Over the main portal is a rose window, flanked by two medallions portraying Julius Caesar and Trajan.

The upper part of the basement has nine plaques with reliefs of Biblical stories, and four bas-reliefs with Hercules’s deeds. The four pilasters of the windows flanking the portal are surmounted by statues of the Virtues. The upper part of the fa�ade has a loggia in Romanesque style.