A day around Bergamo

A special day to get to know a splendid and surprising city. An ancient and modern city, two Italian jewels.

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Itinerary

Meeting with our guide at your hotel.
In the case of departure and return from another city, organization of private transport or purchase of tickets in the case of public transport.
• 3 hour visit to the historic centre of Bergamo, the Città Alta.
• Stop for lunch and 1 hour visit to the Città Bassa in the afternoon.
Return to hotel

Bergamo

Home to one of the busiest airport in Northern Italy, Bergamo, one of Lombardy’s four great historic cities, is an unmissable stop thanks to handsomely walled old town and contrasting modern elements. To reach Bergamo Alta we take a panoramic cable car that deposits us a few steps from the main square, Piazza Vecchia, the city’s salon. Piazza Vecchia is surrounded by the Palazzo della Ragione, the Campanone and the Palazzo del Podestà, which houses one of the most important libraries in Italy.

At the foot of the Orobie Alps dominating the Val Brembana, the Lombard city of Bergamo is divided into a upper (Città Alta) and a lower part (Città Bassa). Bergamo, or Bèrghem as they call it in local dialect, Bergamo Alta is the oldest nucleus, of medieval origin, and Bergamo Bassa, the modern commercial area, that extends into the plain below. Located less than an hour from Milan, and home to one of the busiest airports in Northern Italy, Bergamo has both natural and historical-artistic treasures to offer the visitor, and is an easily accessible destination or stopover for anyone visiting the Lombardy region.

The Città Alta, a jewel surrounded by walls There are two possible cable car routes: the first with panoramic views, connects the Lower Town to the Upper Town and in Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe, the second reaches the Colle San Virgilio, located about 500m asl, is considered strategic gateway to the city. As you approach the Upper Town there are two striking things: its skyline, made of towers and bell towers, and the walls that surround it. Venetian walls, Built in the 16^th century during the Venetian domination, the walls were added to the previous medieval fortifications. Traces of these fortifications are still visible and add the city’s ancient aspect.

Inside the forifications, we find the main square, Piazza Vecchia and Palazzo della Ragione, the ancient seat of the Municipality with the Venetian Lion on the façade. The town hall is connected to the adjacent Domus Suardorum, and Palazzo Novo, now the City Library with the marble facade. In the middle of the square is the Fontana Contarini and on the corner the civic tower known the Campanone (big bell tower). On the other side of the Palazzo della Regione is the small but delightful square, Piazza del Duomo with the Baptistery, the Colleoni Chapel, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and the Cathedral.

Bergamo Alta is a succession of narrow streets and squares and towers and unexpected views. The most rewarding way to explore Bergamo is to get lost among the craft shops, the old wash houses and alleys listening to the notes of Donizetti, the great composer.

We take the cable car (or a nice and panoramic half-hour walk), back to the Lower Town, where we can appreciate the elegance of its squares and palaces starting from Borgo del Pignolo, the natural connection between the two cities, rich in neoclassical and renaissance palaces and home to many artisan workshops.

We continue towards the Piacentiniano Centre, named after the architect who designed it. A modern complex that welcomes some of the most important places in the lower town. We are already in the central Via Papa Giovanni XXIII and a few metres from Piazza Matteotti and Porta Nuova, the ancient entrance to the city, from which we can enjoy a wonderful view of the Upper City. In the afternoon, we return to the hotel.

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What’s included