Bergamo
What to do
Bergamo is a city with a contemporary soul that guards precious architecture. A place rich in history, a centre of opera and with delicious traditional cuisine. Perched on a hill, enclosed by a city wall with four gates, the Città Alta welcomes visitors at first glance with a tangle of hidden courtyards, craft workshops and arcades.
UPPER BERGAMO
The city of Bergamo is developed on two levels: the ancient, medieval-style upper city, quiet and charming, and the modern, lively and animated part. Surrounded by Venetian walls, the upper city contains ancient Roman ruins, Renaissance churches, 18th-century palazzi and neoclassical façades in its narrow cobbled streets, overlooking the famous Piazza Vecchia, just a few steps from the museums. Reach the top of the San Vigilio hill and its castle by funicular railway, in operation since 1887. From here you can enjoy a magnificent panorama of Bergamo and its hills.
SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE BASILICA
Majestic and imposing in the heart of upper Bergamo, the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore dominates Piazza del Duomo. The building, characterised by a sober and linear Romanesque style, stands on the remains of a smaller church. The Basilica was commissioned by the people of Bergamo as a vow to Our Lady to end a long period of epidemics. The white and pink marble façade is embellished with statues, columns, pillars and windows. Inside, a riot of tapestries, frescoes and stuccoes designed by the famous artist Lorenzo Lotto decorate the interior of the building.
ACCADEMIA CARRARA
The Carrara Academy in Bergamo is a museum combining a unique art gallery and a school of painting founded by Count Giacomo Carrara. The Carrara houses 1,800 paintings, 132 sculptures, a significant collection of drawings, prints and precious nuclei of decorative arts, from fans to porcelain, from bronzes to medals. The works bear the signatures of the greatest masters of the calibre of Pisanello, Mantegna, Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Lotto, Moroni, Hayez and Pellizza da Volpedo. The visitor has the opportunity to take a great journey of five centuries through the history of Italian art.
(Fonte immagine: Accademia Carrara)