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Erasmo da Narni, famously known as Gattamelata, began his career as a condottiero (mercenary soldier) around 1400 and quickly rose to prominence as one of the most celebrated military leaders of his era. His service with the Republic of Venice began in February 1434, amid fierce conflict with Milan for control over Lombardy. His reputation reached legendary status in September 1438. Trapped by Milanese forces between Lake Garda and the Alps, Gattamelata led five thousand soldiers across treacherous, snow-covered mountain passes to Verona, saving the Venetian army from disaster. Gattamelata’s daring maneuver was seen as a feat worthy of the ancients, even drawing comparisons to Hannibal’s crossing the Alps. Indeed, this tactically brilliant retreat earned the condottiero a promotion to supreme commander of the Venetian forces, the prestigious Palazzo Corner in Campo San Polo, and admission to the Great Council.

Upon Gattamelata’s death on 9 January 1443, the Venetian Signoria honored him with a state funeral attended by Doge Francesco Foscari himself. Gattamelata was buried in Padua at the Basilica del Santo, in a chapel dedicated to Saint Francis, which was built between 1456 and 1458 by his widow, Giacoma Leonessa. Outside the basilica, on what was then cemetery ground, Gattamelata’s heirs commissioned a magnificent equestrian statue in his honor, created by the renowned Florentine sculptor Donatello. Work on the statue began in 1447, and it was installed in the autumn of 1453. Given the timing of both the chapel’s construction and the installation of the equestrian monument, it is possible—though not certain—that the statue may have initially served as Gattamelata’s tomb, potentially holding his remains within its base until the completion of the funerary chapel in 1458.

The Gattamelata monument is the earliest surviving equestrian statue cast in bronze since antiquity—a landmark achievement that embodies the Renaissance revival of classical art and ideals. The condottiero stands proudly atop an imposing stone podium, nearly eight meters high, adorned with classical winged genii, two of whom hold a shield that bear Gattamelata’s coat of arms. The podium also features two carved ‘mausoleum doors’—one facing west and closed, the other facing east and ajar—clearly inspired by Roman sarcophagi and imbued with funerary symbolism.

Gattamelata and his mount form a bronze ensemble of 36 components, cast at Andrea delle Caldiere’s foundry between May and June of 1447. The horse is shown with its left front leg raised in a calm trot, enhanced by lifelike details such as the folds of skin beneath its neck, its open mouth, and pricked ears. Gattamelata sits on an elaborately decorated saddle adorned with acanthus garlands, putti, and two horsemen derived from the Parthenon’s Panathenaic frieze. He is clad in a pseudo-Classical cuirass hyper-populated with motifs from antiquity, including genii, erotes, winged putti, and Medusa’s head on the breastplate, layered over a short-sleeved tunica and a Roman-style fringed lorica skirt. With a calm, resolute expression, the condottiero holds a silver-gilt baton—a symbol of imperium rooted in ancient Roman tradition—bestowed upon him by Venetian officials following his appointment as supreme commander in 1438.

Traditionally, free-standing bronze statues displayed in public were reserved for the highest secular authorities—sovereigns or emperors. A fitting comparison is the statue of Marcus Aurelius on Rome’s Capitoline Hill, sculpted more than 1200 years earlier. Ancient Roman authors such as Pliny, Livy, and Sallust describe countless examples of this type of bronze equestrian monuments, which, they assert, served to inspire courage and virtue. This tradition of portraying military leaders as exemplar heroes endured into the Renaissance. For example, Giorgio Vasari, the father of art history, described how public images of great men were intended to “fire the minds of their successors with the love of achievement and glory.”

Donatello’s Gattamelata upholds this tradition by presenting an idealized image of a condottiero rather than a realistic likeness of Gattamelata himself, who had died in his seventies, frail after a series of strokes. In fact, some have suggested that Gattamelata’s facial features recall portraits of Roman antiquity, notably that of Julius Caesar. Others believe his face resembles the Beardless Prophet that Donatello carved for Giotto’s campanile in Florence between 1415 and 1418. In either case, Donatello aimed to create an abstract figure—a portrait all’antica—that represented Gattamelata as the archetypal condottiero, a universal symbol of virtue and courage intended to inspire future generations with the example of an ideal military leader. Donatello thus took an unprecedented step: bestowing upon a condottiero—rather than a sovereign or head of state—an honor traditionally reserved for emperors. Seen in this light, the Gattamelata monument was revolutionary, redefining and reinvigorating the genre of equestrian statuary. Donatello was evidently aware of the groundbreaking nature of his work, as he inscribed his own name, rather than that of the sitter, on the podium’s cornice in Roman capitals, a style then newly in vogue: OPVS DONATELLI / FLO[RENTINI].

The statue suffers from ‘bronze disease,’ a form of corrosion that affects copper alloys. In this process, cuprous chloride reacts with water to form hydrochloric acid, which attacks and corrodes the bronze in its turn, thus speeding up the copper’s deterioration. Possibly on account of the difficulties involved in casting an equestrian statue of this size, Donatello split the monument into 36 pieces, thus increasing the structural instability of both the horse and its rider. The base, in trachyte and Istria stone, has also deteriorated due both to its constant exposure to the elements and to the corrosion of the cement mortar applied during an earlier restoration. Beginning in autumn 2025, comprehensive studies are taking place to determine the full extent of decay present in the monument in order to determine the best way to preserve the ensemble.

Acting on behalf of the Pontifical Delegation, Nicola Salvioli’s restoration team conducted an initial fact-finding examination of the monument in the spring of 2023. Their close inspection consisted of in-depth examination of the surface both with the naked eye and using a microscope, endoscopies exploring the interior of the bronze, and a photographic campaign. The wealth of data concerning the artist’s technique and the condition of the monument was recorded graphically on 3D models, based on which a set of recapitulatory tables were generated, enabling the team to perform an initial assessment of the current state of Donatello’s masterpiece. This was followed by operational assistance during the diagnostic phases conducted by Padua University’s CIBA (Interdepartmental Archaeological, Architectural and Art Historical [Cultural Assets] Research, Study and Conservation Center) on behalf of the Padua Soprintendenza ABAP, leading to the identification of areas of analysis and the sampling of material for analysis in relation to the monument’s more immediately apparent issues.

Also, in the context of the research currently under way to produce a project for the restoration of the statue, one unquestionably important aspect is to determine the monument’s structural stability. This, in order not only to define its present condition both in a static situation and in the event of an earthquake, but also to identify the precautionary measures needed during the delicate phase involving the transfer of the monument to a protected environment for further analysis prior to its restoration proper. On-site inspection revealed fragility and signs of age on certain parts of the statue due both to its original construction and subsequent deterioration, and to its manipulation in the past (for example, its removal and replacement in position in wartime). It will be necessary to pay specific attention to such areas when defining the restoration project.

In view of the evidence that emerged during every stage of the preliminary investigation, the restoration of the equestrian monument to Gattamelata and its base was not only necessary but absolutely essential to ensure the preservation of the work of art for present and future generations.

On October 8-9, 2025 the highly complex operation to detach and move the figure of Erasmo da Narni and his horse was conducted. The process began on October 8 with the figure himself, followed by the horse the next day. The pair were transported to the entry hall of the former Civic Museum “Boito” just across the Piazza del Santo. Over the coming months, the monument will undergo comprehensive diagnostic studies followed by a full restoration, led by conservator Nicola Salvioli and his team. The public will have the opportunity to visit the worksite throughout the conservation process, and more information will be announced in the coming weeks.

The two days of intense work were carried out with great attention and professionalism by all the skilled teams involved: restorer Nicola Salvioli; engineers Filippo Casarin and Marco Mocellini of R-Struct Engineering, assisted by the invaluable expertise of Arterìa of Florence, which managed the extremely delicate stages of moving the entire bronze group; investigations and structural assembly were handled by Expin Srl.

Also present were: Dr. Roberto Ciabattoni of the Central Institute for Restoration; Dr. Marta Mazza, Superintendent of ABAP for the provinces of Padua, Treviso, and Belluno, together with Dr. Monica Pregnolato; Architect Ugo Soragni, Scientific Director; Dr. Giorgio Socrate, Project Director; and Architect Ferruccio Tasinato, Safety Director.

Oct. 2025 | Finestre sull’Arte
Oct. 2025 | Archeo Reporter (VIDEO)
Oct. 2025 | RAI TGR Veneto 1
Oct. 2025 | RAI TGR Veneto 2
Oct. 2025 | Sky Arte
Oct. 2025 | The Times

Nov. 2024 | Finestre sull’Arte

Donatello (ca. 1386 – 1466)
Equestrian Monument to Gattamelata
1446-1453, bronze, trachyte, and Istrian stone
Podium: height 780 cm; Equestrian sculpture: height 340cm

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