"[4][5] Bortolo Belotti, Colleoni's biographer, speculates in his work that the Bergamasque had come into possession, at that time, of land consisting of old hovels and gardens, on which the mansion of the condottiero would later be built;[6][7] In fact, the buildings of that period had become obsolete due to the expansion of the new city walls, which had rendered the inner gate of San Giovanni, at the level of the Pallata Tower, inoperative.

[10] An early mention in which the building appears to have been completed, however, is the so-called Chronicle of Cristoforo da Soldo, in which the Brescian residence of the “Captain of the land” (i.e., Colleoni's designation as captain-general of the mainland is alluded to) is described in 1465 as the “Palazzo Grande,” whereas the general's other properties, namely Malpaga, Cavernago, Cologno, Urgnano, and Romano, are instead called “castles.”[16][17] Other testimony worthy of consideration is the will drawn up by the condottiero on October 27, 1475, in which he bequeathed the mansion to his daughter Caterina,[18] later the wife of the Brescian condottiere Gaspare Martinengo; the union of the two, moreover, would later give rise to the so-called collateral branch of the Martinengo della Pallata.

[27] The overall effect and overview of the aforementioned courtyard, which was irreparably damaged in later centuries with respect to its original structure, was to be further enhanced by a decorative apparatus made up of numerous frescoes, of which fragments and partial details are still visible.

[2][30] A hint of the magnificence of the great hall is contained in Da Soldo's chronicle: he reports that in 1465 it bore numerous tapestries and frescoes, as well as a roof of seven horizontal beams, each supporting an imposing chandelier.

[27] The subjects depicted on these small wooden panels are illustrious figures from Greek and Roman mythology, representing famous heroes, queens, and rulers of antiquity;[31] their high social position and prestige can be inferred not only from the sumptuous robes in which they are portrayed, but also, in some cases, from clearly legible titles.

[35] The influence of Leon Battista Alberti's principles in his treatise De pictura, as well as the art of Bonifacio Bembo, on this stylistic apparatus is evident; in any case, the execution of the wooden panels of the Great Hall can be dated between the 1460s and the early 1470s, certainly before 1475, the year of Colleoni's death.

[35] The panels are an important testimony, both in Brescia and elsewhere, of the new humanist sensibility that was emerging at the time, in this case in the visual arts and in the civic sphere, as precisely in the residence of Colleoni, who wanted to present himself not only as a condottiere and captain of fortune, but also as a patron and man of culture.

[36] This particular variation of civic art in a classical and ancient style was probably conceived and organized by an intellectual at the service of the condottiero, such as Antonio Cornazzano, who lived in Colleoni's residence until his death in 1475.