Bergamo is a provincial capital of Lombardy, which is divided into two parts: the upper town, surrounded by a wall enclosing the old part and the lower city, which is the modern part. It lies at the foot of the Orobie Alps and between two rivers, Serio and Brembo in a foothill area where the plains gives way to the hills, and it is in fact on the hills that the city was founded.
A curiosity: Bergamo is known as the city of the Thousand, because it contributed with 174 volunteers of all backgrounds to the famous expedition; some of them also had historical significance in the events following the expedition.

Bergamo Lower city

Photo flickr.com - Sisto Nikon (Francesco Sisti)

BERGAMO: A BIT OF HISTORY
The origins of Bergamo go back in the past to 2000 BC, when a colony of Celts settled here and only in 89 BC became part of the Roman Empire.
After several barbarous rulers - in fact passed the territory Alaric, the Huns, the Vandals, the Alanic population and then the Longobards - became free common on the eve of 1100 and spent the whole medieval period living the struggles between Guelphs and Ghibellines.
It was during this period that was built the wall that protects the upper town.
In the fifteenth century Bergamo passed first under the Venetian domination, then under the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the unification of Italy.


BERGAMO: THE UPPER CITY
The medieval part of town, that is also the most interesting for tourists, is upper Bergamo, surrounded by walls built in the sixteenth century under Venetian rule.
Together with Ferrara, Lucca and Grosseto, is the only completely walled city still remained as they were in the past.

The most known and most fascinating about this part of town is Piazza Vecchia, defined by Le Corbusier as the most beautiful square in Europe.
On the square we can admire the palace of Reason, built in the  twelfth century and now the City Hall, the Civic Tower or bell (that nowadays like in the past sounds the 130 shots at 10 o’ clock p.m. to alert the night closure of the walls), the New Palace which houses the library dedicated to Angelo Mai, the Palazzo del Podestà, built by the Venetians and several other buildings. The square also hosts, in the middle, the famous fountain of Contarini, built in the eighteenth century.

Passing under the portico of the Palazzo della Ragione there is Piazza Duomo, where are concentrated other important monuments such as the cathedral, the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, the Colleoni Chapel and the octagonal Baptistery. From an artistical point of view the most important is certainly the church, with signs in different styles followed one another over time and wooden carvings of biblical scenes.

From Piazza Vecchia, going down Via Colleoni we reach the Citadel Square, the heart of the upper town. Here are the Archeological Museum, the Museum of Natural Sciences dedicated to Enrico Caffi and, not far from them and near the San Lorenzo church, the Fountain of Lantra.
Another place where you can admire other medieval buildings is the square of Saint Pancras, which also houses the eponymous XVth century church and the tower of Gombito, the highest of Bergamo.
In Bergamo, you can also visit the botanical garden.

To reach the upper town, you can use the tram, public transport, car (paying attention to the days when car are banned during the year) or walk through the “scoralizzini”, or stairways that connect over the lower city with the upper one.


BERGAMO: THE LOWER CITY
The lower Bergamo has been created by the development of the villages that were on the streets of communications which lead to the upper town from the surrounding plains; this is the reason why upper Bergamo was called "the city" while lower Bergamo was named the "villages".

The main street is the Sentierone, a paved avenue that in past centuries was used to train the horse-drawn carriages. On this street we can see the city theater dedicated to Gaetano Donizetti and the eighteenth-century Church of St. Bartholomew and Stephen.
In lower Bergamo is also located the Monastery of St. Benedict built in the sixteenth century and is still home to a cloistered community.

This part of the town also has several museums; the first of them is the Accademia Carrara, but also Donizetti museum, the modern and contemporary art gallery, the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art, the Historical Museum, the Natural Science Museum and the archeologic museum.
Finally worthy of note is the monument to the Partisan made by the famous italian sculptor Giacomo Manzu.

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