Christmas in Bergamo

Natale adds extra sparkle to Lombardy’s hidden gem

The beautiful city of Bergamo has now become even more magical, adorned with thousands of twinkling lights, colourfully decorated Christmas trees and lovingly recreated nativity scenes, known in Italian as presepi.

Christmas tree lights up a corner of Piazza Vecchia

On Christmas Eve, la Vigilia di Natale, it was warm and sunny with a clear blue sky while people completed their Christmas shopping, with most of the shops open for business, even though it was a Sunday.

Hundreds of people dressed as Santa Claus - Babbo Natale to Italians - competed in a fun run for charity, Babbo Running, handily finishing on Via Sentierone in the Città Bassa, so they could go into the bars still in costume for a refreshing drink afterwards, adding to the festive atmosphere.

Babbo Running finishes in Bergamo's lower town

The night before Christmas, the buses and the funicular railway were running until late, making it possible to go up to the Città Alta to dine out.

Restaurants were open on both Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day, Natale, but were all filled to capacity, so it is well worth booking in advance, by either email or telephone, to make sure you get a table at your favourite.

There were Christmas concerts in many of the churches and more informal festive entertainment put on in some of the bars.

The talented Maysingers perform in the Tucans
 Pub in Via Donizetti

Some shops and bars were open on Christmas Day in the morning but there was no public transport running. Thankfully the day dawned bright and clear, with warm sunshine, making the walk up to the Città Alta enjoyable.

Many shops and businesses in the city had followed the custom of leaving a seat outside for Santa, adding to the festive atmosphere.

The shops were all filled with seasonal goodies, such as the traditional Panettone and Pan d’Oro and also torrone, a type of nougat made in Cremona, which is a traditional gift to take when visiting friends on Christmas morning. Negozio Sperlari in Via Solferino, in nearby Cremona, has become famous for making torrone. The concoction of almonds, honey and egg whites was created in the city to mark the marriage of Bianca Maria Visconti to Francesco Sforza in 1441, when Cremona was given to the bride as part of her dowry.

In one supermarket in Bergamo’s Città Bassa, a special offer enabled customers to buy a bottle of Aperol, a bottle of Prosecco and a very large bag of crisps, patatine, for just 10 euros,the makings of a very merry Christmas!

Supermarket special offer

Editor’s note: ‘Particular praise should go to the restaurant Il Sole in Via Colleoni just off Piazza Vecchia in the Città Alta. The restaurant was full for Christmas lunch and offered a very good à la carte menu. The courses were served promptly and all the dishes we ordered were hot and delicious. The staff were cheerful and attentive. It was a lovely convivial atmosphere and I would recommend the restaurant to anyone wishing to enjoy a good Christmas lunch in Bergamo’s Città Alta next year.’

For more information visit www.ilsolebergamo.com

Buon Natale e Buon Anno from Best of Bergamo !

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Call in at Caffé del Colleoni

Caffé del Colleoni

An elegant setting for enjoying un aperitivo is the Caffé del Colleoni on Via Sentierone in Bergamo Città Bassa (lower town) where you can sit under the colonnades and watch people go by.
The Caffé is open from seven in the morning for early morning coffee until nine at night. Its weekly closing day is Monday.
It is a popular lunch spot as it serves hot primi and secondi piatti as well as salads and sandwiches.
Caffé del Colleoni also offers a good selection of wines and spumanti and a long list of cocktails.
There are plenty of tables outside from where you can watch the comings and goings in Piazza Giacomo Matteoti, which links the Sentierone with the busy shopping street Via XX Settembre.
Caffé del Colleoni takes its name from one of Bergamo’s most illustrious citizens, the 16th century condottiero Bartolomeo Colleoni, who defended the city on behalf of its Venetian rulers and built the beautiful Colleoni Chapel to house his own tomb.
For more information telephone Caffé del Colleoni on 035.217080.


Language point


An Italian meal is usually composed of un primo piatto (a first dish) and un secondo piatto (a second dish).
Typical primi piatti are soup, pasta and rice dishes. Secondi piatti are fish or meat dishes served with contorni (accompaniments) such as salads, potatoes and hot vegetables.


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Prosecco or pastries at Balzer

Enjoy un aperitivo (an aperitif) in the elegant surroundings of Balzer in Bergamo’s Città Bassa (lower town).

Founded in 1850, the bar in Via Portici Sentierone (under the porticos of the Senti- erone) has become a Bergamo institution.

You can meet up with friends and colleagues for breakfast, coffee and pastries, drinks, lunch, English tea, ice creams, cocktails, vini spumanti (such as prosecco), salads and sandwiches.

Balzer’s pastries are hand made from recipes that have been handed down over the generations and drinks orders are always accompanied by complimentary tiny sandwiches and savoury pastries.

Balzer is particularly known for polenta e osei (a cake made to resemble polenta with chocolate birds on top) and Torta Donizetti, named in honour of the composer. 

Because of its position opposite the Teatro Donizetti, the tables of Balzer have at times been graced by stars such as Maria Callas and others from the opera world.

For more information visit www.balzer.it or telephone 035 234083.

Balzer is an ideal place to stop for a drink and watch the world go by along the historic cobbles of the Sentierone. Salute!



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Try bar at the hub of the Città Bassa

Sit and watch the world go by from a table outside the Caffetteria del Borgo in the Piazza Pontida in Bergamo’s Città Bassa (lower town).

The piazza is close to a point that for centuries was known as Cinque Vie (five roads), where traffic from Milan, Lecco, Treviglio and Crema would converge.

Piazza Pontida (see map below) was where the goods arriving in Bergamo would be unloaded and bargained for before being sent up to the Città Alta.
Some of the portici (porticos) date back to the 15^th century, when farmers and merchants would shelter under them while negotiating over the goods, and story tellers and poets would roam from one inn to the next.

The Caffetteria Del Borgo (pictured), at number 40, has tables both inside and outside and it is useful to know that it serves food all day.

We enjoyed a good pizza in the middle of the afternoon, having just arrived from Milan Bergamo airport at Orio al Serio.
The pizza tasted all the better for being washed down with a particularly good bottle of Valcalepio Bianco, which had been produced to commemorate the recent rally of the Alpini in Bergamo.

For more information about Valcalepio, a wine produced locally, click here.

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Toast the town!

For a spectacular view of the Città Bassa while you sip un aperitivo in the Città Alta, visit the Caffè della Funicolare.
Located within the funicular station in Via Porta Dipinta (see map below), just off the Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe, the Caffè has a balcony from where you can enjoy one of the best views of Bergamo’s lower town, whether by day, or when it is lit up at night.
The elegant Caffè is popular with both local people and visitors and is open from 8 am until 2 am every day except Tuesday. In addition to snacks and drinks, the Caffè serves meals featuring local produce and some of Bergamo’s speciality dishes.
The funicular station in the Città Alta is housed in a 14th century building that used to belong to the Suardi family, who were influential in Bergamo's history.
For more information about the Caffè’s menu, telephone 035 210091.
Salute!

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Taste the best wines in historic setting

Vineria Cozzi's well-stocked bar

If you want to try a traditional Bergamo wine bar visit the Vineria Cozzi on the Via Colleoni in the Città Alta (upper town.)
Behind the red door it is a paradise for wine lovers and there is also a restaurant and courtyard with tables, offering a lunch and dinner menu that provides the opportunity to taste local delicacies. 

Tasty snacks accompany your wine

Vineria Cozzi, the well-stocked bar of which is pictured above, has been a meeting place for Bergamo people since 1848 and still has its original furniture. But the selection of wines in the cellar is renewed constantly and the dishes on offer change regularly to enable the bar to keep tempting both its regular customers and visitors to Bergamo.
Although all the great traditional Italian wines, such as Amarone, Barolo and Chianti are represented on the wine list, you can also sample wines produced in Lombardia and the rest of Italy that are perhaps less known, but are among the best available at any given time. Even if you order only a glass of wine, you will be offered a small portion of a tempting dish free of charge to accompany it. The examples illustrated here - polenta with parmesan crisp, polenta with herbs and anchovies and a vegetable mousse - are typical.
The owners of Vineria Cozzi take pride in offering clients only the wine and food that they believe in themselves, at a fair price that has not been inflated by reputation. They encourage customers to browse among the shelves and choose their own wine.
The Vineria Cozzi can be found at Number 22 Via Colleoni. It is on the right hand side of the street as you walk down from Piazza Mascheroni in the direction of Piazza Vecchia. It is open every day except Wednesday.

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Stylish bar named after legendary poet

One of the oldest and most interesting bars in Bergamo is the Caffè del Tasso in Piazza Vecchia. Situated In the top left-hand corner of the square, near the Palazzo Ragione, the Caffè Tasso dates back to at least 1476.

It was known as the Locanda delle Due Spade (the Two Swords Inn) until 1681 when the statue of the poet Torquato Tasso was erected nearby. The name then changed to Al Torquato Tasso Caffè e Bottiglieria (Torquato Tasso Caffè and Wine Shop). Because of its location the bar has always been an important meeting place and a focal point in Bergamo’s history. In 1849 during the Risorgimento it was hit by an Austrian cannon. In 1859 Bergamo volunteers met there, ready to follow Garibaldi on his famous expedition.

Today, the Caffè Tasso is comfortable and stylish, furnished with antique furniture and many reminders of past visitors in the pictures on the walls, including artists, writers and musicians.

Although the decor has been modernised, it retains its original charm and the Caffè has been run by the Menalli family since the 1980s.

It serves breakfasts, morning coffee, aperitivi, snacks, lunches, cocktails and drinks, both inside and at tables outside in warm weather.

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