Erasmo of Narni

''This article is about the condottieri Erasmo da Narni. For Donatello's equestrian statue, see Gattamelata (Donatello)''



Erasmo of Narni (1370 – January 16, 1443), better known as "Gattamelata" (The nickname means "The Honeyed Cat"), was among the most famous of the condottieri or mercenaries in the Italian Renaissance. He was born in Narni, and served a number of Italian city-states: he began with Braccio da Montone, served Pope and Florence equally, and served Venice in 1434 in the battles with the Visconti of Milan.

He was the subject of Donatello's equestrian bronze sculpture in the main square of Padua, the same city over which he became dictator in 1437.

In Narni, the farmhouse in which Gattamelata was born bears a plaque reading "Narnia me genuit Gattamelata fui &mdash; (I was born in Narni, I was Gattamelata)."