Day 01
Bergamo Alta Through Squares, Churches, and Venetian Walls
- The guided tour of Bergamo focuses on its historic center in the upper part of the town, connected by the funicular and protected by beautiful, perfectly preserved walls and towers.
- It starts from Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe, one of the oldest squares in the town, which in the Visconti era took its name from the products sold there. Nearby, we can admire the Gombito Tower, used for defense in medieval times and later transformed into a commercial building, as well as the ancient wash house, a small 19th-century marble jewel.
- Walking through the main streets, lined with typical shops and pastry shops offering Bergamo sweets and the stracciatella ice cream born right here, we arrive at Piazza Vecchia. In the center stands the beautiful Contarini Fountain, donated in the 18th century by the Podestà of Venice, with sphinxes and four symbolic lions of Venice on the sides, while the 18th-century marble sundial decorates the pavement.
- In this majestic square, once the center of the town's political power, we find the Civic Tower, also called Campanone, which at 53 meters high is one of the tallest in Europe and a symbol of Bergamo that rings every evening in memory of the ancient curfew. We can also admire the exterior of the Palace of the Podestà, today a multimedia museum, and the Palace of the Ragione, the oldest municipal building in Italy, later transformed into a court and home to frescoes by Bramante that once decorated the facade of the Palace of the Podestà.
- Beyond the arcade, we reach Piazza Duomo to visit the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, with its Gothic facade, entrance doors guarded by marble lions, and a Baroque triumph inside with incredible gold decorations and frescoes, the funeral monument to the Bergamo composer Donizetti, and splendid tapestries. Next to the church, we discover the Colleoni Chapel, a marvel of the Italian Renaissance with paintings by Tiepolo, the majestic Colleoni Sarcophagus, and the legend of the leader's family symbol.
- We continue the tour by visiting the Cathedral dedicated to St. Alexander, with its white facade and splendid paintings, tapestries, and the Chapel of the Crucifix inside, not to be missed.
- We end the guided tour with a walk to the Venetian walls, an extraordinary defense system of the Upper Town built by the Venetians in the 1500s to protect against external attacks. Here, you can enjoy panoramic views and find four access gates, the most beautiful of which is Porta San Giacomo in white marble, a triumphal arch with the winged lion of San Marco.
