Places not to miss in Bergamo
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Tour of Upper Bergamo
Visit starts from the Market Square Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe, also called the Old Market Square, where you can watch the beautiful Cloister of San Francis by taking the steep lanes on the left; while in Porta Dipinta street you can see the wonderful Church of Saint Michele al Pozzo Bianco, and finally get to Parco della Fara and the former Monastery of Saint Augustine. By taking the street on the left, you get to Porta San Giacomo, which leads all the way down to Lower Bergamo, through a beautiful cobbled street. In proximity of the entrance door stands the massive Palace Medolago Albani.
Always with departure from the Market Square, climbing up on the right, you get to the Castle, the furthest defensive point of the town, where you can visit the Church of Saint Eufemia, the Park of Remembrances and the Historic Museum, which keeps documents and relics of the local patriotism during the wars of independence, the two world wars and other historic events.
Going down via Rocca and turning into Gombito street, always very busy and full of shops, you get to the Piazzetta di San Pancrazio. From Gombito street, climbing up in via Lupo, you reach an ancient public lavatory, and just a few steps forward, in Donizetti street, stands the Palace of the Arciprete, which represents the best example of Renaissance building in town. A little onward stands also the 16th century Pacchiani Palace.
The streets continues until the Old Square, defined by the great architect Le Corbusier as “the most beautiful square in Europe”. Here stand the Civic Library, the Palace of the Law, the Fountain of Contarini, the Palace of the Podestà, and the bell-tower. This big civil tower still chimes 100 beats every night, at 10 o’clock, a memory of the past age, when the town gates were closed at night for security reasons.
Crossing the porch of the Palace of Law you enter piazza del Duomo (Dome square), where all the most important monuments of the city are concentrated: the Dome, Santa Maria Maggiore, the Chapel of Colleoni, and the Baptistry. After you visited the churches, turn on the left into Colleoni street, a narrow lane animated with shops and workshops, and you will get to Piazza Mascheroni, then through the passage of the Torre del Campanella you will find yourself in the piazzetta della Cittadella, with the 12th century Adalberto Tower standing out. Here, inside the Viscount Palace, both the Archaeological museum and the Museum of Natural Sciences Enrico Caffi are worth a visit. Crossing the square you get to Colle Aperto, where you can visit the Hill of Saint Vigilio and part of the walls and the cannons surrounding the upper town. From Colle Aperto you take the funicular to Colle San Vigilio, situated 500 mt. above the sea, and admire the little church and the very old fortress placed on the highest point of the town. From here, the view over old Bergamo is superb.
Taking back Colleoni street and S. Salvatore street, and then into Arena street, you get to the monastery of Santa Grata and the Donizetti Museum, where the memories, manuscripts and publications of the great composer are kept. Back in Colle Aperto, you walk all the way down to lower Bergamo, or take a bus until the station.
We remind you that in your visit to Bergamo it is preferable to move around on foot, making use in some paths of buses and funiculars, since the whole area is closed to traffic on feast days.
