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Places not to miss around Bergamo
SERIANA Valley - (Selvino, Clusone, Presolana)
The Seriana valley is a wonderful destination for a mountain holiday. Special interest deserves the tourist village of Selvino (1000 mt a.s.l.). The Selvino plateau is situated in the area of the Bergamo mountains, in the middle of the Seriana and Brembana valley. The plateau towers over the wonderful landscapes of the valley and the Orobic Alps. Selvino is surrounded by mountains easy to reach with pleasant walks through woods and lawns, while the excursionists in search of more challenging mountains, will certainly remain satisfied by the rocks of Mount Cornagiera, just outside the village. Selvino offers a rich series of manifestations and events, thematic weekends in hotels, culinary tasting of local dishes, excursions (both on a sporting and amateur level), and last, but not least, a healthy rest! To reach Selvino from Bergamo a deviation of 12 km from the state road is necessary, then you take the comfortable and panoramic mountain road which will take you through the other great valley: the Brembana valley.
If you don’t want to leave the state road, from Bergamo carry on for about 30 km until Clusone, 650 mt a.s.l.., a village of great artistic and tourist interest, though populated by only 8000 people. Beside the 11th century Town hall and some other churches and secular palaces, farm houses and buildings with loggias, Clusone is famous for its remarkable planetary clock, which has been striking hours, minutes, days and moon phases since 1583.
Many other villages are hidden among the massifs rising up over 3000 mt altitude, characterized by artistic and natural peculiarities which are all worth a visit. In Gromo for instance lies a beautiful medieval village, while from Valcanale begins the trail of the Orobie: 8 stops and a total of 80 kilometres calling at the wildest places of these mountains. In Valbondione, the northern village of the valley, lies the Serio Waterfall: here the river Serio jumps from 315 metres, offering a real fascinating sight (open 5 times per year from June to October, on scheduled dates).
From Valbondione it is possible to reach the mountain huts of Curò and Coca, and from there, to climb up to the alpine lakes or the mountain highs of the Coca Peak(3050 metres), Scais (3038 metres) and Gleno, with its little glacier. Castione della Presolana and Onore, situated respectively at 870 and 700 metres, are both villages of the Presolana basin, a renowned tourist area, very populated both in winter and summer, which appears to the visitor as a green slope sweetly climbing up to the Pass of the Presolana. Once there, you can still climb to the top of the Presolana, or continue to the Cave of the Pagans, the mountain hut Rino Olmo, or onward to Mount Visolo. Beyond the pass, the view opens on the suggestive and wild Scalve valley, closed between the Camino peak and the Presolana. Here lies the village of Schilpario, with its mining museum and a wide choice of excursions and climbing paths.
BREMBANA VALLEY – (San Pellegrino Spa)
The Brembana valley was digged by the river Brembo, and appears very wild, often closed, with a characteristic alpine touch. Just after the 3 villages of Villa D’Alme, Almenno and Clanezzo, the landscape changes its aspect, and the sweet hills give way to a rocky and rugged environment. The main village of the area is Zogno, 8.000 inhabitants, where the Caves of Wonders are to be found: these caves are made up of natural halls with stalactites and stalagmites. A little valley lies on the bottom, where the branches of the Brembo river coming down from Olmo and Fondra finally converge. In this valley lies the tiny village Lenna, 560 mt a.s.l. From here the valley runs into two opposite directions, the main one leads to the village Foppolo, 1510 metres a.s.l., the highest village of the Province of Bergamo. This village is the starting point for excursions over 2500 metres, on Mount Toro, Corno Stella or Mount Cadelle. Another important village is Branzi, set in a lovely position among the great mountain chains, in the vicinity of the Twin Lakes basin.
However, the real tourist capital of the Brembana valley is San Pellegrino Terme, once a renowned tourist and spa centre which boasted a Grand Hotel and a prestigious Casino (unfortunately dismissed and now under recovery). The mineral water of San Pellegrino is already mentioned in some council statutes of 1452, while a century later, with the official acknowledgement of the healing power of the thermal waters, the construction of the first spa began, followed by other important constructions at the beginning of the 20th century.
Historic accounts on Bergamo
