Lago di Endine

Bergamo's tranquil lake

Monasterolo del Castello looks over the
southern end of Lago di Endine

As well as the many delights the city has for visitors to discover, Bergamo province has its own picture-perfect lake, Lago di Endine, a shimmering gem out in Val Cavallina.

Surrounded by banks of thick reeds, which provide an ideal breeding ground for fish and birds, the lake offers a tranquil spot for both local people and tourists to relax in.

You can walk all the way round Lago di Endine’s 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) of shores on well-maintained level footpaths, and take in its unique beauty, while pausing occasionally to take pictures, or rest at the many benches and picnic tables thoughtfully placed around the lake.

In the summer, the clean waters of the lake are ideal for swimming, sailing, canoeing, and windsurfing, but motor boats are not allowed on the lake to preserve the peaceful atmosphere.

During the winter, the lake can sometimes become frozen over. People used to skate on it in the past, but this is now forbidden by the municipality for safety reasons.

Snow-capped mountain peaks are visible in
this winter view at the northern end

Lago di Endine is long and narrow, almost like a river, and you can walk all the way round it comfortably in a day, while remaining close to the water and completely undisturbed by any traffic. The depth of the water is 9.4 metres (31 feet) at its deepest point.

The clear waters of Lago di Endine are regularly replenished by torrents of water that descend from the slopes of the surrounding mountains.

The surrounding villages of Monasterolo del Castello, Endine Gaiano, Spinone al Lago and Ranzanico all have bars and restaurants with terraces with superb views over the lake. Local dishes and fresh fish from the lake, such as perch, carp, eels, pike, and tench, are on the menus.

There are plenty of car parks for visitors to use situated above the lake and there are regular buses from Bergamo to Lago di Endine that stop at various points along the lake.  The journey takes around 35 minutes by car and up to 50 minutes by bus.

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Palazzo della Ragione Bergamo

Medieval palace was once used as a courthouse

The facade of the 12th century Palazzo della Ragione is an iconic image of Bergamo’s upper town, the Città Alta. 

But the most photographed and admired building in Piazza Vecchia hides many fascinating secrets.

If you step under the archways into what was once the ground floor of the building, you are entering what used to be Bergamo’s courthouse.

The white seat was where the prisoner would have to sit

During the period of Venetian domination the judges used to preside over legal proceedings there and would take a decision based on their ‘reason’, in Italian ‘ragione’. This is how the medieval palace acquired its name.

You will see a row of stone seats along one of the palace’s walls but only one of the seats is white. This is the so called ‘Seat of Shame’ where the prisoner accused of the crime would have had to sit during the legal arguments.

Take a seat there yourself and imagine what it would have been like to be someone accused of a crime in the 16th century when the Venetians first took control of Bergamo. The defendant would have been very glad to be able to stand up and walk into Piazza Duomo and continue sightseeing, as today’s visitors can!

The palace has been damaged by fires over the centuries and has had to be rebuilt many times.  It is said that the ground floor walls were removed to allow a view through the arches into Piazza Duomo. This enables visitors to see the stunning pink and white facade of the Colleoni Chapel, which is in stark contrast to the dark stone of Palazzo della Ragione. 

The facade of the medieval Palazzo della Ragione

The grand covered stairway, which dates from 1453, rises from Piazza Vecchia to the first floor of the palace. There are 13th and 14th century frescoes, which were taken from old churches and houses in the area, decorating the upper hall.

The palace was mentioned in a document of 1198 and is therefore believed to be the oldest communal building in Italy.  It was once used for meetings of Bergamo’s civic authority, but it has also been a theatre and a library and occasionally acted as an art gallery.

The carving of the lion over the central window of the palace was added to the exterior of the building to mark the domination of the Venetians over Bergamo. The current lion is actually a 20th century replica of the 15th century original, which was torn down when the French took control of Bergamo in 1797.

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Accademia Carrara Bergamo

See highlights of collection inside this magnificent palace

English-speaking visitors and students are being offered a unique opportunity to explore Bergamo’s prestigious Accademia Carrara, accompanied by an expert guide speaking in their own language.

Saturday Morning Visits at the premiere art galley in Bergamo will reveal the highlights in the collection from now until October this year (2019).

Tours start from the ticket office in the lobby of the gallery at 11 am each Saturday. The cost is six euros in addition to the normal ticket price and booking is not necessary.

Accademia Carrara is housed in 18th century palace

This is an opportunity to find out more about Pisanello. Mantegna, Bellini, Botticelli, Raffaele, Lotto and Moroni, to name just a few of the great artists whose works are in the Carrara’s collection.

The English-speaking guides promise to show visitors the art treasures ‘at the heart of the museum’s collection’ during a 90-minute taster tour. 

One of the biggest jewels in Bergamo’s crown, the prestigious art gallery Accademia Carrara is housed in a magnificent palace just outside the Città Alta, built in the 18th century to house one of the richest private collections of art in Italy.

It is the only Italian museum to be entirely stocked with donations and bequests from private collectors. Visitors can now view a broad-ranging collection of works by the masters of the Venetian, Lombard and Tuscan renaissances as well as great artists who came later.

The Accademia Carrara was established in 1794 as a combined Pinacoteca and School of Painting on the initiative of Bergamo aristocrat Count Giacomo Carrara. In addition to his collection of paintings he left his entire estate to the Accademia to secure its future.

The number and quality of the works in the Accademia has increased over the years thanks to the many donations and bequests from private collectors.

From being a museum dedicated to Renaissance painting, the Accademia has grown into an art gallery that also provides a broad representation of pictorial genres from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

Accademia Carrara is in Piazza Giacomo Carrara, a short walk from Porta Sant’Agostino. For more information visit www.lacarrara.it.

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Bergamo’s Mint

Old palace was where the city's coins were made

The strong wall of Palazzo Pacchiani Rivola

An unassuming old palace in Via Donizetti in the Città Alta used to house Bergamo’s Mint.

Palazzo Pachiani Rivola, at one time known as Palazzo Gromo dei Rivola, is at number 18 in the beautiful street named after the opera composer, Gaetano Donizetti. It has particularly strong walls and parts of it date back to the 13th century.

During what is known as the communal period, between the 11th and 14th centuries, when the citizens of Bergamo ruled themselves, the Mint of Bergamo, la zecca, was based in the palace.

The family who owned Palazzo Pachiani Rivola at that time, the Belfante di Rivola family, were believed to have received a good rent for housing the Mint.

The Rivola were one of the oldest and most powerful families in Bergamo . They were Guelphs and were involved in continual battles with the Suardi family, who were Ghibellines.

The only access to the house was along a small path named Gromo dei Rivola. This made the house so secure that the gold and silver from nearby mines were kept there after being brought to the city from the valleys. It is known that coins were minted in the palace by 1236, if not earlier.

The top of the street named
 after opera composer Donizetti

It has also been recorded that in 1254 a meeting was held in the Palazzo del Comune to agree regulations for Bergamo’s monetary system

A plaque on the wall of Palazzo Pachiani Rivola states that silver money was made on behalf of the Rivola family in the palace between 1236 and 1302.

Via Donizetti leads from Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe to Piazza Giuliani.

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Restored Casinò a triumph for San Pellegrino Terme

Casinò Municipale di San Pellegrino Terme

One of the most magnificent examples of the architectural style known in Italian as stile liberty, the Municipal Casinò at San Pellegrino Terme is now available as a venue for weddings and conventions.

Casinò di San Pellegrino

Both the impressive exterior and ornate interior of the building in Via Bartolomeo Villa have been carefully restored, taking it back to the elegance and sophistication of the glorious days early in the 20th century when it was fashionable for the rich and glamorous to visit San Pellegrino.

The spa town’s Casinò took just 20 months to build between 1905 and 1907 and is generally regarded as a masterpiece of Stile Liberty, or Art Nouveau, as it is also known.

Illustrious guests visiting San Pellegrino Terme to take the waters would come to the Casinò to hear musical concerts or gamble in the Sala da Gioco (gaming room). It became a meeting place for the most eminent people from the worlds of finance and politics as well as the aristocracy.
The gaming room was closed on Mussolini’s orders in 1926 and reopened, for a brief period only, in 1946.

Ornate detail
inside the Casinò

Nowadays under Italian law, gambling is permitted in a few places only, the most famous being the Casinò in Venice.
San Pellegrino Terme and the province of Bergamo are now working in partnership to revive tourism in the town and the restoration of the Casinò and adjacent theatre were the first projects undertaken. There are also plans for a new Spa centre and for the restoration of the Grand Hotel.

The Casinò now provides a prestigious venue for weddings, meetings and conventions. For more information about arranging an event there, visit www.casinosanpellegrinoterme.com.

Guided tours of the Casinò can be booked with Bergamo Su e Giù, who are a small group of dedicated tour guides committed to promoting the unique heritage of Bergamo and the surrounding area. They formed their association to provide services for tourists five years ago and can provide tours with commentary in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Japanese for groups from as few as six, to around 30 people.

Bergamo Su e Giù, which literally means 'Bergamo up and down', have taken more than 600 visitors round the Casinò since it reopened. For more information, visit www.visitbergamo.info.

Sample some San Pellegrino

The name San Pellegrino has become synonymous throughout the world with the bottled aqua minerale that comes from the town.

But since medieval times San Pellegrino Terme, which is about 24 kilometres north of Bergamo in the Valle Brembana, has been a place people visited hoping for a cure for their illnesses. The waters were believed to be particularly effective against uric acid and kidney stones.

San Pellegrino became fashionable at the end of the 19th century and impressive buildings such as the Grand Hotel, il Palazzo della Fonte and il Casinò Municipale were designed for the town by architect Romolo Squadrelli.

It is worth a visit, by car or bus from Bergamo , to see the opulent architecture and to take a stroll along the banks of the River Brembo, where you can imagine what San Pellegrino would have been like at the height of its popularity.

There are plenty of elegant bars and restaurants on the main street looking out over the river.

But wherever you decide to stop for refreshment, make sure you order a bottle of San Pellegrino!

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Don’t miss architectural gems of Bergamo’s lower town

The stunning medieval and Renaissance architecture of the Citta Alta (upper town) is understandably a magnet for visitors to Bergamo.

It can be easy to overlook the Citta Bassa and go straight up to the beautiful town within the walls that you see in the skyline when you arrive in the city.

But Bergamo’s lower town has a wealth of imposing 18th and 19th century buildings to admire as well as many areas of historical importance.

One square definitely not to be missed is Piazza Pontida, near the junction of Via Sant’Alessandro and Via XX Settembre, which would have been the hub of the city in the 15th century.

Decorative porticos in Piazza Pontida

The square is close to a point known for centuries as Cinque Vie (five roads), where traffic from Milan, Lecco, Treviglio and Crema would converge. It was the place where goods arriving in Bergamo would be unloaded before being sent up to the Citta Alta (upper town).

Some of the portici (porticos) date back to the 15th century, when farmers and merchants would shelter from the sun under them while negotiating over the goods. It would have been a lively scene in those days, with story tellers and poets roaming from one inn to the next, entertaining the crowds who had come to trade in the square.

There are now modern shops doing business behind the porticos, but the square is still a popular meeting place for local people and it is pleasant to sit at a table outside one of the bars or restaurants and watch the Bergamaschi going about their daily lives.

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Ancient palace has become Bergamo landmark

  

One of the most distinctive buildings in the Citta Alta, Bergamo’s upper town, is the 12th century Palazzo della Ragione, an imposing presence at the southern end of Piazza Vecchia.

The dark, medieval palace is perhaps Bergamo’s most frequently photographed building and has become an iconic image of the Citta Alta.

Medieval Palazzo at one end of Piazza Vecchia

The ground floor walls of the Palazzo were removed in the 15th century, allowing a view through the arches into Piazza Duomo. This provides a glimpse of the sumptuous fascade of the Colleoni Chapel, which is a bright contrast to the dark stone of the Palazzo.

It is claimed court cases used to be heard under the open arcades that now form the ground floor of the Palazzo and that prisoners were put on show there for the Bergamaschi to see.

Nowadays you will often be able to listen to musicians under the arcades while you sit and enjoy a drink at the Bar Tasso next to the Palazzo.

A grand covered stairway was added to the Palazzo della Ragione in 1453. This rises from Piazza Vecchia to the first floor of the Palazzo, where 13th and 14th century frescoes, taken from old churches and houses in the surrounding area, were used to decorate the upper hall. Known as the Truss Room, the upper hall is now often used for art exhibitions.

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Enjoy a day trip to Sarnico on Lago d’Iseo

The foot of Lago d'Iseo seen from Sarnico

As the weather gets warmer in Bergamo, consider spending a day in Sarnico on Lago d’Iseo. It takes less than an hour to drive or travel by bus to the elegant little town 27 kilometres from Bergamo .
Sarnico is on the edge of what is perhaps Italy’s most romantic and least known lake. Lago d’Iseo is in a beautiful setting among mountains and has the spectacular Monte Isola, the biggest lake island in Europe, at its centre.
Sarnico is at the foot of the lake on its western shore, where it joins Fiume Oglio (River Oglio.)
There is a service to Sarnico every hour from the bus station in Via Bartolomeo Bono in Bergamo. The bus leaves the city along Via Borgo Palazzo and passes through a series of interesting, small towns with mountain views in the distance.
From Chiudino onwards you will see fields of vines with the grapes for the next season’s Valcalepio wine growing on them.
The bus passes through Grumello del Monte, which has a pretty square with a fountain, Castelli Calepio and Villongo before turning towards the lake. The nearest stop to the lake is outside Sarnico’s Municipio (Town Hall) in Viale Roma. From there it is a short walk to the lake where you can stroll along Via Garibaldi, which runs alongside it, and admire the views.

A street in the centre of Sarnico

There is also a medieval town centre to explore uphill away from the lake. In Via Lantieri, which is off Piazza Umberto, you will see architectural reminders of the middle ages such as narrow alleyways and passages under arcades. Call at the Tourism Information Office at number 6 Via Lantieri and ask for a free map and a list of the main sights.
Just above Piazza Umberto in Piazza San Paolo, off Via Tresanda, is the 15th century church of San Paolo.
Il Museo Civico Gianni Bellini has works of art from between 1500 and 1700 on display in a restored 15th century palazzo.
To see a villa in stilo Liberty (early 20th century Liberty style) take a look at Villa Faccanoni in Via Vittorio Veneto, built by Milanese architect Giuseppe Sommaruga.

Where to eat in Sarnico

For a good meal in a lovely setting, try Ristorante Pizzeria Anphora in the heart of the town in Piazza XX Settembre on the edge of the lake.
Steps lead up from the square to the restaurant, which has an outside eating area for summer use overlooking the lake.
Inside, the restaurant is smart and modern but is furnished with antiques and bric a brac.
Ristorante Pizzeria Anphora specialises in fish and seafood dishes but also offers Lombardian recipes. It is closed on Mondays.
To book a table or check the opening hours telephone 035 910828.

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Enjoy musical memories in tranquil Via Arena in Bergamo

Quiet Via Arena in Bergamo

One of the most beautiful and characteristic streets in the Città Alta (upper town) is the peaceful Via Arena.

The narrow cobbled street lined with old houses with ornate portals and fresco decorated walls runs from Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore up to the west end of the Città Alta and the Seminario Vescovile. It can be accessed by leaving the church of Santa Maria Maggiore at the south entrance.

On the left side is the high wall encircling the Santa Grata convent with an ornate church entrance. Opposite is the Palazzo della Misericordia Maggiore, which houses a musical institute and the Donizetti museum.

The palazzo, at Number 9 Via Arena, was originally built in the 15th century but was extended and refurbished in the 17th century to become the largest baroque building in Bergamo .

The museum dedicated to Gaetano Donizetti has a unique and fascinating collection of furniture, paintings, books and musical scores.

Donizetti, who was born and died in Bergamo, composed about 70 highly regarded operas in 30 years, making him one of the leading composers of opera in the early part of the 19th century and a major influence on Verdi, Puccini and other Italian composers who came after him.

Donizetti museum entrance in Via Arena

Visitors are able to see Donizetti’s furniture, including the bed he died in and the chair he used to sit in towards the end of his life when he was living in Palazzo Scotti in Bergamo ’s Città Alta as the guest of a wealthy family. There are also the composer’s piano, portraits, original scores from his operas and his letters on view in display cases as well as a library of books and documents.

To add to the atmosphere as you look round the museum, you will hear occasional snatches of music played by students using the practice rooms of the musical institute, which is also housed in the palace.

The origins of the musical institute go back to the charitable lessons in music provided for orphans early in the 19th century by Simone Mayr, music master at Santa Maria Maggiore, under who Donizetti himself at one time studied

The Donizetti Museum in Via Arena is open from Tuesday to Friday from 9.30 to 13.00 and on Saturday and Sunday from 9.30 to 13.00 and from 14.00 to 17.30. Closed Mondays.

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Top 12 sights in the Città Bassa in Bergamo

People often ask what the main sights are in the Città Bassa because there is such a wealth of beautiful buildings to look at in Bergamo’s lower town it can be difficult to know where to start.

I have put together a list of 12 places in the Città Bassa that visitors to Bergamo really must see. But it has not been easy to narrow down my choice and anyone who would like to suggest something to add to the list is welcome to email me with their suggestions.

1 - Santa Maria delle Grazie on the corner of Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII and Porta Nuova – with its 19th century green cupola topped with a golden statue. The origins of the church go back to 1422 when a convent was built on the site. The beautiful cloisters have been preserved within the church buildings, although the convent was suppressed at the beginning of the 19th century.

One of Porta Nova's twin Propilei

2 - Porta Nuova - the distinctive Propilei di Porta Nuova, two buildings that look like small temples, were designed by Ferdinando Crivelli in the mid 19th century and built on the site of one of the gates of the muraine, the name for the old city walls that used to run through the Citta Bassa.

3 - Via Sentierone -  a popular place for la passeggiata. The Sentierone, which means broad path, links Piazza Vittorio Veneto with Via Torquato Tasso, a road that leads into the oldest part of the Città Bassa.

4 – The Donizetti monument, set back from Via Sentierone in Piazza Cavour - erected in 1897 to commemorate the first anniversary of Donizetti’s birth. An imposing structure in white marble, it depicts the composer sitting on a bench gazing at the figure of a female playing the lyre. Set in the middle of a pond and surrounded by plants and trees, the monument is inscribed simply ‘A Gaetano Donizetti’.

La Chiesa dei Santi Bartolomeo e Stefano

5 - La Chiesa dei Santi Bartolomeo e Stefano, at the corner of Via Torquato Tasso and Largo Bortolo Belotti – providing an impressive backdrop for Via Sentierone. Inside are some beautiful 18th century frescoes, but it is difficult not to be drawn straight to the magnificent altarpiece, Madonna with Child and Saints painted in 1513 by Lorenzo Lotto. The painting is also sometimes referred to as Pala Martinengo as it was commissioned by Alessandro Martinengo Colleoni, the nephew and adopted ‘son’ of condottiero Bartolomeo Colleoni.

6 - Palazzo della Provincia in Via Torquato Tasso - Bergamo’s seat of provincial government, built between 1864 and 1871, the first public work to be carried out in Bergamo after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. The new building was designed on a grand scale to house both the offices of the provincial administration and the prefecture of police. On the facade you will notice five carvings depicting significant events and personalities in Bergamo’s history.

7 - La Chiesa di Santo Spirito in Piazzetta Santo Spirito - considered the most important religious Renaissance building in the Città Bassa. It was converted from an original 14th century church by the Venetian born architect Pietro Isabello in 1530 on behalf of some of the rich merchant families in Bergamo . The fine Renaissance design is more striking inside where there is a nave and ten side chapels divided by tall columns. Santo Spirito houses Enthroned Madonna with Saints and Angels, painted by Lorenzo Lotto in 1521.

8 - San Bernardino in Pignolo in Via Pignolo - built at the end of the 16th century as a chapel for the use of the nobility and rich merchants living in the palaces in Via Pignolo. Inside there is a vaulted ceiling with frescoes and works by Gian Paolo Cavagna and Andrea Previtali. The altarpiece by Lorenzo Lotto portraying the Enthroned Madonna with Child, Angels and Saints was painted in 1521.

9 - Sant’Alessandro della Croce in Via Pignolo – with an elaborate façade added as recently as 1930. The interior has original baroque decoration and an 18th century inlaid marble altar by Andrea Fantoni. In the sacristry you will see the painting of the Holy Trinity by Renaissance artist Lorenzo Lotto.

Piazza Pontida

10 - Piazza Pontida near the corner of Via Sant’Ales- sandro and Via XX Settembre - the place where goods arriving in Bergamo used to be unloaded and bargained for before being sent up to the Città Alta. Some of the porticos date back to the 15th century, when farmers and merchants would shelter from the sun under them while negotiating over the goods.

11 - Sant’Alessandro in Colonna in Via Sant’Alessandro - believed to have been built where Bergamo’s patron saint was martyred by the Romans. A Roman column in front of the church is thought to mark the exact spot where the saint was killed by the Romans for refusing to renounce his Christian faith. Every year on 26 August Bergamo remembers Sant’Alessandro’s decapitation in 298.

12 - Palazzo delle Poste in Via Masone on the corner of Via Antonio Locatelli - an impressive piece of architecture, designed to follow on from the development of the lower town at the beginning of the 20th century by Marcello Piacentini. Built of brown stone, the post office has a tall clock tower and the long windows typical of 1930s architecture.  The Poste e Telegrafi building was planned in 1929 by Angiolo Mazzoni and completed in 1932. 

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Golden statue crowns cupola of huge church

Not to be missed in Bergamo’s Città Bassa…

SANTA MARIA IMMACOLATA DELLE GRAZIE

Santa Maria Immacolata delle Grazie

A landmark of Bergamo's Città Bassa (lower town) is the impressive church of Santa Maria Immacolata delle Grazie in Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII.

The huge church on the corner of Porta Nuova has a 19th century green cupola topped with a golden statue with an early 20th century campanile next to it.

But the origins of the church go back as far as 1422 when a convent was built on the site dedicated to Santa Maria delle Grazie.

The beautiful cloisters have been preserved within the church buildings although the convent itself was suppressed at the beginning of the 19th century.

The neoclassical design for the new church was created between 1855 and 1857 by architect Antonio Preda and the first stone was laid on 1 May 1857 by the bishop at the time, Monsignore Pierluigi Speranza.

On 7 December 1907 the main altar was consecrated in the presence of the then bishop Giacomo Maria Radini Tedeschi, who was accompanied by his 26-year-old secretary Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, a native of Bergamo and the future Pope John XXIII.

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See magnificent altarpiece by Lorenzo Lotto

Not to be missed in Bergamo’s Città Bassa…

SAN BERNARDINO IN PIGNOLO

Although it is only a small church, San Bernardino in Pignolo is well worth a visit to see the art treasures it contains.

From Piazzetta Santo Spirito turn left into Via Pignolo and walk up the street in the direction of the Città Alta (upper town),  crossing Via Verdi, to the church of San Bernardino, built in the 16th century as a chapel for the use of the nobility and rich merchants who were living in palaces higher up Via Pignolo.

Inside the church there is a vaulted ceiling with frescoes by Talpino and there are works by Gian Paolo Cavagna and Andrea Previtali.

The stunning altarpiece by Lorenzo Lotto portraying the Enthroned Madonna with Child, Angels and Saints was painted in 1521 during the artist's stay in Bergamo.

Opening hours: 08.00 to 11.30 and 16.00 to 18.00; Sundays and holidays 08.00 to 12.00.

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Baroque church contains important works of art

Not to be missed in Bergamo’s Città Bassa…

SANT’ALESSANDRO DELLA CROCE

Sant'Alessandro della Croce

Behind the ornate marble façade of Sant’Alessandro della Croce lies a simple 17th century church housing some magnificent works of art.

The church can be found in Via Pignolo close to the square of Piazzetta del Delfino, where there is a lovely 16th century fountain.

Although the elaborate façade was added as recently as 1930, the interior of the church has original baroque decoration and an 18th century inlaid marble altar by Andrea Fantoni.

It is also worth a look round inside the church to see works by Giovan Battista Moroni, Andrea Previtali, Palma the Younger, Sebastiano Ricci and Leandro Bassano.

In the sacristry you will see an early 16th century painting of Christ carrying the cross by Lorenzo Costa and the painting of the Holy Trinity by Renaissance artist Lorenzo Lotto.

Sant’Alessandro della Croce is open from 7 am to 11.45 and from 3.30 to 7 pm.

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Square was the hub of the city in the 15th century

Not to be missed in Bergamo’s Città Bassa…

PIAZZA PONTIDA

Piazza Pontida is a popular meeting place

One of the squares with historic importance in the Città Bassa (lower town) is Piazza Pontida, which is near the corner of Via Sant’Alessandro and Via XX Settembre.

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

Piazza Pontida was the place where the goods arriving in Bergamo would be unloaded and bargained for before being sent up to the Città Alta (upper town).

Some of the portici (porticoes) date back to the 15th century, when the farmers and merchants would shelter from the sun while negotiating over the goods. It would have been a lively scene, with story tellers and poets roaming from one inn to the next, entertaining the crowds who had come to trade in the square.

There are now modern shops doing business from under the porticoes but the square is still a popular meeting place for local people.

Sit at a table outside one of the bars or restaurants and watch the Bergamaschi going about their business, imagining what the scene would have been like 500 years ago.

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Renaissance church commissioned by wealthy merchants

Not to be missed in Bergamo ’s Città Bassa…

LA CHIESA DI SANTO SPIRITO

Despite its rather rough looking façade, the church of Santo Spirito is considered the most important religious Renaissance building in Bergamo’s Città Bassa (lower town).

The unusual façade of the
church of Santo Spirito

It was converted from an original 14th century church by the Venetian born architect Pietro Isabello in 1530 on behalf of some of the rich merchant families in Bergamo.

But the project was not completed at the time, the façade was left unfinished and the church’s vaulted roof was added in the 18th century.
The striking bronze sculpture is a much more recent addition, a representation of the Descent of the Holy Ghost (Discesa dello Santo Spirito) designed by Francesco Somaini and erected in 1971. 

The fine Renaissance design of the church is more striking in Santo Spirito’s interior, which has a nave and ten side chapels divided by tall columns. The church is said to have been particularly admired by Pope John XXIII, who was born just outside Bergamo.

Santo Spirito houses many important works of art including Enthroned Madonna with Saints and Angels, painted by Lorenzo Lotto in 1521 and works by Andrea Previtali and Ambrogio Bergognone.

It is worth looking in the fifth chapel on the left to see the tomb of two members of the Tasso family, who were the pioneers of a regular postal service as early as the beginning of the 15th century.

The church of Santo Spirito can be found in Piazzetta Santo Spirito on the corner of Via Torquato Tasso and Via Pignolo.

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