A three-location exhibition in Bergamo dedicated to Medea Colleoni, daughter of the well-known condottiere

From March 16 to June 4, 2023, Bergamo Alta, in the exhibition venues of the Colleoni Chapel, the Luogo Pio della Pietà Colleoni and the Biblioteca Civica A. Mai, dedicates an exhibition to Medea Colleoni, beloved daughter of Bartolomeo Colleoni, one of the greatest leaders of the Renaissance, for twenty years Captain General of the Venetian army.

Medea died very young, only fourteen years old, on March 6, 1470. From this closely familiar event, two paths arise that are inextricably intertwined. The historical-artistic one: the elder Bartholomew hired the young sculptor Giovanni Antonio Amadeo to create Medea’s funeral monument, giving Bergamo what has been described as “the most beautiful of the effigies that rest in Lombard soil.” And then the romantic legend that the young girl’s death fuels, which is meant to reveal the tender fatherly face of the condottiere Colleoni, who for his daughter’s death sheds his only tears and who next to Medea buries his little bird, his inseparable playmate, to accompany her on her final journey. The same, unknowing Medea, with her youth crushed, is sung about by poets and literati, such as Gabriele D’Annunzio.

From important documentary and object findings, brought to light in recent years by careful and interdisciplinary research, comes an articulate exhibition and scholarly journey, entitled I, Medea. The White Legend of the Lombard Renaissance. The exhibition will be an opportunity to bring under the spotlight both the tomb of Medea, which for the first time will also be accessible to the public with the full view from above of Amadeo’s sculpture, and the normally inaccessible spaces of the Luogo Pio della Pietà that was founded in 1466 by Bartolomeo Colleoni in his city home, still active after nearly five and a half centuries. Sculpture, painting, documents, textiles, scientific paths, narratives, a publication: the story of Medea becomes a tool to open windows on the 15th century in Bergamo, between history, art, architecture, costume, the role and education of women, the universe of family affection. Plus: urban transformations, marriage policies, literature, animals. The exhibition will weave threads that unite the city of Bergamo with its territory, those “colleonesque lands” that of the condottiero’s life and activities still preserve important historical, artistic and architectural traces.

Sections of the exhibition:

Colleoni Chapel, Piazza Duomo: Sculpted for Eternity.

For the first time there is an opportunity to “climb” the funeral monument of Medea to admire with a full view and from up close the splendid statue of the resting maiden.

Luogo Pio della Pietà Colleoni, Via Colleoni, 11: Traces of her Medea

From the short time of life to the eternal time of myth: painting, poetry, fashion, affections and marital strategies for a narrative of the 15th century that is also feminine.

Angelo Mai Civic Library, Piazza Vecchia, 15: The Colleoni Codex Medea and Bartholomew.

A special bond emerging between the pages of a precious illuminated codex: the biography of the Captain written by humanist Antonio Cornazzano (1473-1474).

The exhibition is organized by the City of Bergamo and Rete Coglia.

Hours:

PIO PLACE: Thursdays and Fridays from 3 to 7 p.m.; Saturdays and holidays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; special openings 10/4, 25/4, 1/5 with holiday hours and 24/4 with weekday hours

CAPPELLA COLLEONI: Thursdays and Fridays from 2 to 6 p.m.; Saturdays and holidays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 6 p.m.; special openings 10/4, 25/4, 1/5 with holiday hours and 24/4 with weekday hours

LIBRARY A. MAI: Monday through Friday 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturday 8:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Sunday and holidays closed.

A three-location exhibition in Bergamo dedicated to Medea Colleoni, daughter of the well-known condottiere

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