Italy · Restored
Malpaga Castle
Malpaga Castle is a fortified Renaissance seigneurial residence in Cavernago, Bergamo, largely rebuilt and expanded after 1456 by the condottiero Bartolomeo Colleoni. The castle is notable for extensive interior wall frescoes attributed to Il Romanino, including scenes commemorating the 1474 visit of King Christian I of Denmark and other allegorical and courtly subjects.
Its prime
1474
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1474
What Malpaga Castle looked like in its prime.
A compact, square fortress set within a surrounding ditch and two concentric lines of defensive walls, the castle presents crenellated curtain walls topped by stepped merlons; the outer ring includes service buildings (stables and barracks) in the original plan. The inner courtyard is enclosed by continuous ranges of rooms whose interior plastered walls are covered with large narrative fresco cycles; low pitched roofs shelter the inward-facing suites and a central open courtyard dominated by painted wall-scenes.
Its story
The story of Malpaga Castle.
In 1456 the condottiero and nobleman Bartolomeo Colleoni acquired the ruined castle of Malpaga from the commune of Bergamo. He enlarged and enriched it not only as a military base for his troops but as a seigneurial residence, in the typical Italian Renaissance fashion.
The castle's chief feature is its frescoed interior, attributed to the Renaissance painter Il Romanino. Commissioned by Colleoni's heirs around 1520–1530 to celebrate the family's most famous member, the cycle includes scenes commemorating the 1474 visit of King Christian I of Denmark alongside allegorical and courtly subjects.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1474.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Malpaga Castle — including 5 interiors: frescoed state rooms, room commemorating king christian i's visit, colleoni's private studio and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Create History
Recreate Malpaga Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1474 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate this castle →Whose castle
Clans who held Malpaga Castle.
The families that held Malpaga Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Colleoni
Acquired ruined by the condottiero Bartolomeo Colleoni in 1456; his heirs commissioned the frescoes c. 1520–30.
