Bergamo is a city situated around 40 kilometers northeast of Milan. It is divided into two parts; the upper town (Città Alta) and the lower town (Città Bassa).
The upper town is the old core of Bergamo; the lower town is the modern part of this city.
On this post I will tell you something about the upper town.
You can easily go to Bergamo from various countries by air. In fact there is an airport nearby. It is located near a village named Orio al Serio.
This airport has only a terminal. It is used mostly by various low cost air companies as Ryanair, Wind Jet and Wizz Air. Inside there are several shops, a pharmacy, two banks and a tourist office.
It is possible to go the the upper town from the lower town in Bergamo by bus or by funicular. The funicular has two cars. Each has a capacity of 50 people (seated and standing).
Its first run was in 1887. This funicular was restored in 1921, in 1963-64 and in 1988.
It runs from 7 a. m. to 12 p. m. every day. It departs from the station in viale Vittorio Emanuele. It takes around half an hour to go to the funicular station from the train station by foot, but you can go there by bus as well.
The upper town is surrounded by around six kilometers of walls. These already existed at Roman times. They were rebuilt during the Middle Ages. From 1561 to 1588 these were reconstructed by the Venetians. They demolished 250 buildings to build them; including some churches and convents.
The walls were built in order to face enemies attacks, but never underwent any siege.
Take a walk around these old walls to enjoy great views over the countryside and the lower city.
Piazza Vecchia is the main square in the upper town. It is surrounded by various buildings.
One of the palaces surrounding piazza Vecchia is Palazzo della Ragione. It was the seat of the chief magistrate, or governor who ruled Bergamo from the 16th until the end of the 18th century.
Palazzo della Ragione was built during the second half of the XII century and rebuilt in the 1500' s. It is joined by a bridge to another palace; Palazzo del Podestà . It was built between XII and XIII centuries.
On the north east side of the square stands the Palazzo Nuovo, or Biblioteca Angelo Mai; the civic library. Its construction began at the beginning XVII century and was finished in 1958.
There are some restaurants and cafes in this square.
Torre Civica (the civic tower) is also called the "Campanone" because it has a very large bell inside. Large bell could be translated as "campanone". This sounds 180 times at 10 p. m. every evening to signal the old curfew when the gates of Bergamo were about to close. This tower was probably built between the XI and the XII centuries.
I don' t think it is worth to climb around 250 stairs to get to the top of this tower to enjoy the landscape. There are other places in Bergamo from where you can see a nice one.
Piazza Duomo is a situated at the back of piazza Vecchia. It is surrounded by some religious buildings as the cathedral (duomo). It is dedicated to saint Alessandro.
It was built on a pre existing church probably constructed in the VI century. It was rebuilt in 1449; at the end of 1600 and in the 1800.
Opposite the cathedral you can see the baptistery. It is an octagonal building dating from 1340. Originally it was located inside the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Near the cathedral there is the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. It was built in 1137 as a vow to the Virgin after the plague in 1135 on the site of a church dating around VIII century. Its interior was modified between the 16th and the 17th centuries in Baroque style.
The church houses the tomb of the composer Gaetano Donizetti and several Florentine and Flemish tapestries made in the 1500-1600.
Joined to the Basilica is the Cappella Colleoni. This mausoleum was ordered to be built by Bartolomeo Colleoni (a soldier and a leader) for himself and his daughter Medea between 1472 and 1476.
The sacristy of the basilica of santa Maria Maggiore was demolished to build this chapel.
The basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. The main entrance.
Part of a tapestry inside the basilica.
The Baroque confession chair.
The bishop hall (Aula della Curia) is a 12th century judgement hall.
Not many people know about this place. I was on a guided tour of the Città Alta and our guide took us there. It is located to the left of the Colleoni chapel. You have to climb a flight of stairs to get there.
This large hall has five rows of 13th century frescoes depicting biblical scenes and other works. There are scenes as the last supper, Jesus washing the feet of an apostle. Kiss of Judas and so on.
The Tempietto di Santa Croce. This small church dates to the first half of the XI century. I have read it is decorated with frescoes inside.
You can spot some beautiful door knockers in the Città Alta.
One of the museum I visited in Bergamo was the Museo Donizettiano. This nice museum is dedicated to Gaetano Donizetti. He was a very famous music composer. Gaetano was born on november 29th 1797 and died in 1848. He composed about seventy operas in thirty years.
This museum occupies two rooms in a fourteenth - sixteenth century palace; the Palazzo della Misericordia Maggiore. Here you can see many things belonged to this composer; his piano, several portraits and various documents There are also the bed he died in and a chair he used to sit in when he was severely ill.
I am not a opera lover or an expert on this matter, but I enjoyed this museum.
La Rocca is a fortress was built between 1331 and 1336. It is located on a hill, which was believed to have been the Roman capitol. Its original building was constructed by the Celts from the IV century A. D. The medieval building was begun in 1331 by John of Louxembourg and completed by Azzone Visconti (lord of Milan from 1329 to 1339) in 1336.
Through the centuries this building has undergone various enlargements. Inside the fortress there is the nineteenth-century section of the historical museum of the city.
A memorial park dedicated to the first world war fallen surrounds the fortress. There you can see lots of monuments , a small tank and some cannons.
La Rocca is a good place to enjoy the views over the upper, the lower city and other areas.
One of the churches I liked much in Bergamo was the curch of San Michele al pozzo bianco. It was originally built in the VIII century; rebuilt around the XII and the XIII centuries and restored in the 1400' s. ù
It is named al pozzo bianco probably because there was a well made from white marble nearby. Pozzo bianco means "white well" in Italian.
Inside you can see several frescoes painted in the 1400 and 1500. There is also a cycle of frescoes made by Lorenzo Lotto; in the chapel of the Madonna. This church has a crypt with frescoes as well.
There are some typical sweets and food in Bergamo which are worth a try.
Polenta e osei is a typical cake of Bergamo. It is the sweet version of polenta (mashed corn) with small birds. This cake is sold in various confectionery shopes and bakeries in Bergamo.
This good dessert is made with sponge cake, chocolate and hazelnuts creams, butter and some rum. It is covered with a layer of yellow marzipan and sprinkled with yellow cristallized sugar. The small birds that you see on top of this cake are made with marzipan covered with chocolate.
A typical first course in Bergamo is Casoncelli alla bergamasca are a kind of stuffed pasta filled with bread crumbs, egg, cheese, ground beef, salami or sausage, spinach, raisins, amaretto biscuits, pear and garlic.
These are served with melted butter flavoured with sage leaves and sprinkled with grated Grana Padano cheese and chopped cooked bacon.
This first course is believed to have originated in the countryside outside Bergamo where they were created as a way of using up left overs.
You can find casoncelli, also called "casunsei" in many restaurants in Bergamo.
The Donizetti cake is a ring shaped cake created by Alessandro Balzer (see Balzer confectionery in upper Bergamo) in 1948 to commemorate hundred years from the death of the musical composer Donizetti.
It is a simple and good cake sprinkled with castor sugar. You can buy it at various bakeries and confectioneries in Bergamo.
It is difficult for me not to go inside the Tresoldi bakery when I visit Bergamo. This small bakery is a good place to buy good pastries and also pizza by the slice. My favourite treats there are small pastries with fruit.
Tresoldi bakery is located in via Colleoni; the upper town main street.
Sweet Irene is one of my favourite cafe restaurant in Bergamo. It is located in the lower area of Bergamo. It is made of two rooms. One of these is downstairs. It is a kind of cellar.
Here you can have food as quiches and sandwiches, but you can choose your meal from the menu of the day as well.
At this cafe they have a good selection of pastries and cakes.
Vox is a good place to visit at the so-called happy hour. This is a period of time, usually from 5.30 p. m. to 9 p. m. when you can have a drink (alcoholic or non alcoholic) accompanied with various nibbles (chips, olives and more). At happy hour time you can help yourself with the food you see on the plates on the counter. Vox is also a restaurant. It is located in the Lower Town.
Here you see a beautiful statue dedicated to Donizetti. You can find it in the lower area of Bergamo.
I had a pleasant visit to the castle in Grumello del Monte with a group of VT members (I was a member of Virtual Tourist...www.virtualtourist.com).
Grumello del Monte is some 18 km east of Bergamo. I went there by train.
Probably this castle was originally built around the X century. It also was owned by Bartolomeo Colleoni in 1400. It was turned into a mansion in the XVIII century.
Only some rooms, a chapel, the ex stable and part of a tower are opened to visitors at this manor. So if you are going to visit a castle with lots of beautifully decorated rooms could be disappointed. You have to book if you like to visit the castle.
A presentation of several kinds of wines was included in the tour. We could sample various kinds of wines accompanied with cold cuts and cheeses. I think this was the best part of the visit. The owners of the castle run a winery. There is a shop at the castle. Here you can buy wines and some souvenirs.
If you will stay more than three or four days in Bergamo you can do several day trips for here. For instance you could go to the Como and Iseo lakes, to Milan and to several other places.
