Scanzorosciate

The building where Francesco Martinengo Colleoni was born is the only surviving part of the Palazzo dei Martinengo, a building of considerable architectural value but demolished almost completely to make way for the new parish church consecrated in 1938 with its large churchyard. It is in the form of a roadman’s house (locally called the “Torre”) on two levels plus the attic.

The Torre del Colleoni is in the process of being restored to become the first Wine Museum in the Province of Bergamo, given the centuries-old (some say even thousand-year-old) winemaking vocation of the area, known globally for the production of the world-famous Moscato di Scanzo, with the aim of helping to drive national and international tourism.

The house where Francesco Martinengo Colleoni was born is contiguous with other buildings, of different periods and styles, united both by their historical interest (all being subject to preservation regulations) and by a single restoration project and use for social and cultural purposes. They overlook a common courtyard and consist of:
• A building of uncertain age but in any case, constructed prior to 1812 and characterised by loggias and internally, by vaulted ceilings frescoed with figures and grotesques (restored and used for social housing);
• An auditorium built in 1933, as a fine example of Italian Rationalist architecture, characterised by a balanced compositional choice carried out through the calibrated score of the half-pillars leaning against the levels of the façade (currently being restored and utilised for cultural and recreational activities).
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Francesco Martinengo Colleoni, a descendant of Bartolomeo Colleoni, was born in 1548 in Scanzo. One of the most prominent leaders and diplomats in the historical period between the 16th and 17th centuries, he was a Condottiero (mercenary leader) in the service of the House of Savoy (commanding the galea at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571) and the Serenissima Republic of Venice. In old age, having laid down his arms, he dedicated himself to land reclamation works in the foothills of Bergamo, between the Serio and Cherio rivers.