Bergamo is situated on the border of the plains of the pre alpine Orobie region. The city in devided into two parts: the upper town, the walled town and the lower town, the modern city.

(ill. Panorama, postcard, 1920)

CITTA' ALTA

Piazza Vecchia, Bergamo - from Vescogna 28 km

The upper town is the Medioeval core surrounded by ramparts built in the 16th century during the Venetian domination that made the city an impregnables fortress. The most famous sightseeing is the Piazza Vecchia, with the Contarini fountain from 1780, the Palazzo della Regione, built in the 12th century and the Civic Tower. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful squares of Italy. On its south side are the Duomo, which its construction started in 1459 based on architect Filarete's project: the Colleoni Chapel from 1471-1476 by the architect Giovanni Antonio Amedeo; the Baptistery, built in 1340 by Giovanni da Campione and the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, in Lombardy-Romanesque style and baroque interior that houses the tomb of the musician Gaetano Donizzetti.

The Via Colleoni leads to the Piazza della Cittadella where the Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Natural Sciences are situated. In the Church of San Michele al Pozzo Bianco are preserved frescoes by Lorenzo Lotti from 1525.

THE FUNICULARS OF BERGAMO

Viale Vittorio Emanuele II°, Bergamo - from Vescogna 27 km

Managed by the ATB company, the City Funicolar (line Fun.C) that connects the two parts of the town was built in 1887 and renovated in 1921.

Once in Bergamo, travellers were amazed at the ease with thay could visit the city; getting off the train and walking the beautiful avenue named after King Vittorio Emanuele, they arrived at the funicular station that took them comfortably to the Città Alta (Upper Town). Once the main monuments were visited, they reached the station of the funicolar of Colle di San Vigilio (line FSV) that lied beyond the gate of Sant' Alessandro within the Venetian walls. From there, over the hill, laid on one side the beautiful view of the endless plains, while on the other side the Orobie hills chain, with mountains Alp tops crowning the view.

"The blue distance": that is how Hermann Hesse described what appeared before his eyes from the Hill of San Vigilio. When he visited Bergamo in 1913, the great german writer foolowed the route briefly described. Today, a century later, that path has changed little to nothing.

(ref.: turismo.bergamo.it)