Palazzo Martinengo Colleoni di Malpaga

Martinengo Colleoni di Malpaga Palace

Today the building is home to MO.CA, the centre for new cultures where cultural associations, exhibition areas and creative ateliers are based.

Dating back to the 16th century, the palace was built at the behest of the Martinengo-Colleoni di Malpaga family, among the oldest and most distinguished in Bergamo. The branch of the family was born at the end of the 15th century, when brothers Gherardo, Gaspare and Jacopo Martinengo married the daughters of the condottiere Bartolomeo Colleoni, assuming the joint name Martinengo Colleoni and inheriting their estates, gathered around the towns of Malpaga and Cavernago. At the end of the century, therefore, the family moved to Brescia, placing their residence on Piazzetta Sant'Alessandro, to the south, and building their first palace here, which was quite sober. Some time later, in the first half of the 18th century, the family, based on plans by Alfonso Torregiani, had its historic home restored, making it one of the most impressive Baroque palaces in the city. In 1787 the Martinengo family also commissioned architect Donegani to design the elegant fountain in the small Sant'Alessandro square, in harmony with the facade of the palace.

Tempo di lettura:

2 min

Aree tematiche

Points of interest

Descrizione

The building passed to the Swiss Baebler family in the 1800s, who enlarged the eastern wing to balance the palace's volumes to the existing buildings on the street. Located at the corner of Via Moretto and Corso Cavour (hence the name of the MO.CA cultural centre), it features two entrance portals, flanked by white columns supporting the second-floor balconies. Originally the main entrance was from Corso Cavour: in fact, it has coupled side columns and is surmounted by a large window with the coat of arms of the two houses. The inner courtyard is enriched by a portico of Tuscan columns onto which several frescoed rooms in the neoclassical style open; on the south side the two-flight staircase, with large monochrome frescoes depicting Hercules and Jupiter, leads to the gallery of the piano nobile, overlooked by the ballroom and other reception rooms (of the Ladies and Men), decorated with stucco and illusionistic-effect frescoes that testify to the family's 18th-century splendour. The private apartments ‒ which are located on the opposite side of the gallery ‒ are diversified by decorations of different styles and eras.