Condottieri

   Condottieri were mercenary military commanders employed by rulers of Italian city-states from the medieval era until roughly the end of the 15th century. The word condottieri derives from the fact that the military contract they signed was called a condotta. Among the most prominent condottieri were members of the Lupi family, who served the rulers of Carrara in the 14th century; Micheleto da Cotignola and Niccolô da Tolentino who participated in the Battle of San Romano on the side of Florence, as depicted by Paolo Uccello in the painting of the same name (1430s; London, National Gallery; Paris, Louvre, and Florence, Uffizi); Erasmo de Narni, called Gattamelata, whose equestrian monument by Donatello is in the Piazza del Santo in Padua (c. 1445-1453); Bracciolo da Montone who trained Lionello d'Este of Ferrara on the military arts; Federico da Montefeltro, ruler of Urbino, who supported his city's economy by acting as military commander for hire; and Bartolomeo Colleoni, whose monument (1481-1496) by Andrea del Verrocchio stands in the Campo dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice.