A few words about Bergamo

Bergamo is a town in northern Italy, in the region of Lombardy, at the foothill of the Alps. It is divided into two distinct parts: the 'upper city' (Citta alta) on the hilltop, which is the historical Medieval centre, and the 20th-century 'lower city' (Citta bassa). The Citta alta is surrounded by massive defensive walls, built in the 17th century by the Venetian Republic. A funicular railway connects the historical section with the modern town.

Present-day Bergamo stands in the place of a fortified Etruscan settlement of the 6th c. B.C. The Gauls took it and called it Berghem, meaning 'city on the mountain'. A later Roman settlement of the name of Bergomum was razed to the ground in the 5th century by Attila?s Huns. It was under Milan rule from the 13th to the 15th century, then the Venetians took over until the end of the 18th century, during which period the town flourished in social, political and cultural aspect. In newer times, it saw French and Austrian rule until the unification of Italy (1859).

The Piazza Vecchia is the heart of the Medieval city. It is flanked by Palazzo del Comune (Palazzo della Ragione), the Cathedral, and Santa Maria Maggiore. Santa Maria Maggiore, a large church in Romanesque style in Piazza del Duomo in the the Citta alta, has wonderful acoustics, and for ages supported a tradition of music performances, and the Venetian polychoral style flourished thanks to the original works of composers such as Gasparo Alberti, the basilica's 'maestro di capella'. First built in the 12th c., the church still contains fragments of the original frescoes. The Colleoni Chapel is a fine piece of Renaissance architecture.

Accademia Carrara, also known as the Pinacoteca, is probably the most remarkable museum in Bergamo. It contains about 1800 works of art from the 15th to the 19th century, including works by Pisanello, Raffaello, Botticelli, Mantegna and Rubens. Much of the collection was donated by Count Giacomo Carrara, art patron and collectioner, and is now housed in an impressive Neo-Classical building. Nearby is the Gallery of Modern Art featuring 20th-century Italian and foreign artists: Morandi, Manzu, Casorati and Kandinsky.

Renaissance painter Lorenzo Lotto from Venice worked in Bergamo for a few years, creating frescoes and several alterpieces. Opera composer Gaetano Donizetti and violin virtuoso Pietro Locatelli were born in Bergamo. Donizetti?s tomb is at the back of the Santa Maria church. Named after the renowned composer, the theatre in Bergamo houses an annual piano festival.

Bergamo is a favourite day tour for the visitors of Milan. If you have some more time to spend in Bergamo, however, you can visit the nearby village of Crespi d?Adda, a well-preserved example of a workers? village built by the Crespi family, owners of the cotton factory. It was designed as a Utopian place of order and harmony, providing for all needs of the workers: uniform homes with gardens, a church, a school, a community house. The utopian idea failed, the Crespi family went bankrupt but the factory actually functioned until 2004, and the homes are still inhabited by descendants of the original workers. The village is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The countryside around Bergamo is beautiful, with vineyards producing excellent wine and tranquil villages. In Grumello del Monte, there is a medieval fortress, later transformed into a noble residence. Local wines can be tasted in its cellar. Another nice day trip is to Lake Iseo. San Pellegrino is a once-popular spa town, widely known for its mineral water. Brembo di Dalmine has a unique museum of cribs