Bergamo has it all: a majestic setting, a magnificent medieval town, designer shops and gourmet restaurants. This walk takes in one of Italy’s richest art museums, then explores the historic Upper Town’s piazzas and monuments.
DISTANCE: 4.5km (2.75 miles)
TIME: A full day
START: Accademia Carrera
END: Il Sentierone
POINTS TO NOTE: Avoid driving and parking within Bergamo. There are direct train services from Milan or Como, or, if you are killing time before a flight, buses run every twenty minutes from the nearby Orio al Serio airport (10–15 mins). They stop at the railway station, city centre and funicular station for the Upper Town. Bergamo has a tourist office at Piazzale Guglielmo Marconi, in the Lower Town and another in the Upper Town at Via Gombito 13. The ATB System (www.atb.bergamo.it) is a transportation system for travelling within the city of Bergamo and the 29 surrounding towns by bus, funicular train and the T1 Bergamo-Albino tramway.
Seen from afar, Bergamo is a mass of bell towers and domes silhouetted against the Alps. Originally settled by Celts and Romans, the town nevertheless has a Venetian soul, following 400 years of Venetian rule. There are two centres: the historic Città Alta (Upper Town) and the more modern Città Bassa (Lower Town). The former is bound by a circle of 16th-century walls built by the Venetians after the city expanded beyond its medieval ramparts and fortress.
Funiculars in Bergamo
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This walk begins in the Lower Town, laid out in the 1920s with stately tree-lined avenues, porticoes and piazzas.
Accademia Carrara and GAMeC
The Accademia Carrara 1 [map] (Piazza G. Carrara 82; www.lacarrara.it; charge) has a fine collection of Lombard and Venetian art, amassed by a local aristocrat in the 18th century. Among the treasures in this Neoclassical palace are Gothic works by Pisanello and Renaissance and Mannerist works by Bellini, Veronese, Tiepolo, Tintoretto, Raphael and Mantegna. Look out as well for paintings by the very fine local Renaissance artist Lorenzo Lotto.
View down to the Lower Town
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Bergamo
Opposite the Carrara is the GAMeC 2 [map] (Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea; Via San Tomaso 53; www.gamec.it; charge), a dynamic gallery housed in a beautifully restored monastery, hosting truly fabulous contemporary art exhibitions – recent exhibitors include Rachel Whiteread and Vivian Suter.
After seeing the Carrara and GAMeC, follow Via della Noca east through the Venetian gateway Porta Sant’Agostino, take the Via Porta Dipinta in front of the ex-convent of Sant’Agostino, and climb up into the heart of the Città Alta. Via Gombito 3 [map], a lively medieval street lined with food shops and eateries, leads into Piazza Vecchia.
Piazza Vecchia
A showpiece of both medieval and Renaissance monuments surrounding a fountain with marble lions, the Piazza Vecchia 4 [map] is often described as the most perfect square in Italy.
Piazza Vecchia in Bergamo city
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Bergamo-born composer Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848) is commemorated in the city by a street, theatre, memorial, monument and museum: the Museo Donizettiano (Via Arena 9; http://museodellestorie.bergamo.it/en/site/museo-donizettiano; Charge) south of the Cittadella.
Flanking the square is the Palazzo della Ragione (www.visitbergamo.net/it/dettagli-oggetto/21-palazzo-della-ragione; charge), the much-remodelled medieval council chambers, decorated with a winged Lion of St Mark, the symbol of the Venetian republic. An elegant external stairway leads up to the main hall, which houses a collection of fresco panels taken from deconsecrated churches and convents in the region. It also acts as an occasional second venue for Gamec’s art exhibitions.
The glass lift of the Torre Civica or Campanone (www.visitbergamo.net/it/dettagli-oggetto/74-torre-civica---campanone; charge) whisks you up to the top of the tower for fine views. The bell tower chimes 180 times daily at 10pm, in memory of the curfew under the Venetians.
Near the square is Da Franco Ristorante with excellent pizza .
Donizetti’s piano
Glyn Genin/ Apa Publications
Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
The religious heart of the town is the adjacent Piazza del Duomo 5 [map], home to both the hybrid Duomo with an 1886 façade, and, submerged beneath a sumptuous Baroque interior, the Romanesque basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (www.fondazionemia.it/it/basilica; charge). The church has a beautiful Gothic porch adorned with statues and reliefs and an interior profuse with gilt, stuccowork and paintings.
Colleoni Chapel
Adjoining the church is the ornate Cappella Colleoni 6 [map] (www.visitbergamo.net/it/dettagli-oggetto/18-cappella-colleoni; free), built in 1472–6 as a mausoleum for Bartolomeo Colleoni, a rich Venetian condottiere (mercenary), who demolished the sacristy of Santa Maria Maggiore to create the space.
The mausoleum has a marble façade embellished by medallions, columns, sculpture and reliefs. The interior shelters ceiling frescoes by Tiepolo and the tomb of the condottiere.
Inspect the railings of the Colleoni Chapel and you will see Colleoni’s coat of arms. Called ‘i tre colleoni’, the gleaming crest comprises three testicles (coglioni) – the third endowed by mother nature.
Museums of Archaeology and Natural History
Return to Piazza Vecchia and head west along Via B. Colleoni 7 [map], the continuation of Via Gombito. Da Mimmo, see 1 [map], and Vineria Cozzi, see 2 [map], are good pitstops for lunch or dinner.
The Duomo’s Baroque ceiling
Glyn Genin/ Apa Publications
1 [map] Da Mimmo
Via Colleoni 17; www.damimmoelina.com
Founded in 1956 and still family run, this is a Bergamo institution, serving excellent home-made “Casonsèi de la bergamasca”, local ravioli-style pasta with butter, pancetta and sage. The setting is a 14th-century palace and a garden accommodating 200 diners. Reasonably priced set menus. €€
2 [map] Vineria Cozzi
Via Colleoni 22a; www.vineriacozzi.it. An inviting wine bar with a huge choice of Italian wines and a menu of antipasti, some fantastic home-made pasta – try casoncelli with hazelnuts and crispy pancetta – vegetarian dishes, including a fabulous grapefruit risotto with crispy veg, cold meats and cheeses. You can also order a two- or three-course picnic, served in a pretty basket with proper tablecloths, something to sit on and cutlery. €€
3 [map] Il Maialino di Giò Piazza
Pontida 37; http://ilmaialinodigio.it
A lively little deli and bar with hams hanging from the ceiling that is particularly popular at aperitivo time for its tasty cold cut platters. €
At Piazza Mascheroni, pass under the Torre della Campanella for the Cittadella 8 [map]. A 14th-century fortress used to defend the west section of the city. Today it is home to the Museo Archeologico (www.museoarcheologicobergamo.it; charge) and the Museo di Scienze Naturali (www.museoscienzebergamo.it; charge).
La Rocca
Retrace your steps back past the cathedral and along Via Gombito to Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe. Divert left from the piazza along Via alla Rocca and climb up to the 14th-century Rocca 9 [map], built on the foundations of the Roman capitol, offering impressive views.
To return to the lower town, take the 120-year-old funicular ) [map] from Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe. Get off at Viale Vittorio Emanuele II. From here, walk southeast to the tree-lined Il Sentierone ! [map], a favourite rendezvous for the locals and a popular spot for an evening stroll. If you’re feeling peckish head to Il Maialino di Giò Piazza, see 3 [map], where you can enjoy a glass of wine and some cured meats, reflecting on the highlights of your day.
Colleoni Chapel
Glyn Genin/ Apa Publications