Brochure of Bergamo Province

PROVINCIA

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BERGAMO

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BERGAMO ITS PROVINCE

PROVINCIA

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BERGAMO

Bergamo and its province can quite rightly be considered an artistic, natural and cultural treasure chest. There are extraordinary monuments and artistic expressions of uncommon beauty, major historical and cultural testimonies all set amid hills, mountains, plains, rivers and lakes in a harmonious and delightful continuity that is often accompanied by the economic and industrial dynamism that has made this land a rival to the most advanced regions in Europe.

All those who, like Stendhal, wish to be chance tourists, as they stroll through the city or roam the province, with no fixed itinerary discovering and tracing each route personally, will find this guidebook a practical and precious indication to what will enthral and fascinate them, surprises and what deserves more attention and due exploration.

If, on the other hand, you prefer to be led, you will find it contains numerous itineraries, new ideas and suggestions on how to spend one or more days visiting churches, mansions, museums, old villages, castles, farm estates and one of the most beautiful fortified cities in Italy Bergamo, where the Venetian east blends with the meditative severity of the Lombard landscape, exploring the great artistic heritage that has been accumulated in centuries of history.

You will also discover parks, enchanting holiday villages, nature oases, spa centers, ski resorts, picturesque lakeshores and riverbanks, solemn Alpine scenery and can regenerate with beneficial cures, participate in a variety of sports activities or enjoy the magical silence of nature.

In this province, from prehistoric times to the present day, nature and culture have always been entwined, offering a multiplicity of tourist attractions that – accompanied by the rediscovery of olt flavours and the search for local food and wines still bound the changing seasons and the land – will transport you far from the overwhelming pace of contemporary life and allow you at times to relive the atmosphere of times past, where the passing days and man’s work regain their full meaning.

Tecla Rondi Province Counselor

Valerio Bettoni President

il TERRITORIO the TERRITORY

Nature, landscape and the environment What landscape could be considered to most characterise the province of Bergamo? The plain dotted with densely populated towns or the pre-Alpine valleys? The remote farms or that of the skiing resorts? The river scenery or that of the rolling hills surrounding the provincial capital; the countryside or the industry? Certainly it is all these together and more. Because the province of Bergamo is a truly composite mosaic of different environments, where nature has been painstakingly modified by the presence and activities of man.

The Bergamo plain "Strada Francesca" is the name of the main communication route that crosses the province of Bergamo linking Canònica d’Adda to Palazzolo sull’Oglio. The old road, traced by the Romans and reinstated in the 9th century by the Franks - after whom it is named marks a sort of boundary between the visually differing northern and

southern bands of the plain.

Extending to the north is the upper or dry plain, marked by morainic and, therefore, permeable terrain.

Here the farming presence is limited to the few sectors, with a predominance of cereal crops (wheat and maize) and small farms, still organised in isolated cascine.

Urban and industrial signs are

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the TERRITORY

clearly visible on the landscape, with large numbers of houses and factories concentrated around the more densely populated centres.

South of "Strada Francesca" the scene changes. This is the lower or irrigated plain, featuring clayey, impermeable terrain rich in sources and karst springs. These natural ‘plain springs’ flowing out where the surface of the terrain is so low that it reaches the waterbed are precisely the reason for the good irrigation for the fields, with water at a virtually constant temperature in every season.

Agriculture is still widespread in this band of the territory, with a predominance of large farming estates cultivating extensive areas of forage plants for stock rearing. The rivers that cross the Bergamo plain longitudinally make highly unusual

The river Serio waterfalls at Valbondione

environments and landscapes. The Adda and Oglio rivers trace its western and eastern boundaries respectively, and the River Serio almost draws its median line. In 1985 the Regione Lombardia set up the

Upper Valle Brembana, huts at Laghi Gemelli

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nature, landscape and the environment

Ethnographic museums Everyday domestic items, work tools used in the fields, woods and vineyards and equipment for dairy production, woodworking and wool, linen and hemp weaving.

A good way of learning about the trades, crafts and folk traditions of the Bergamo valleys is to visit the small museums that have collected documents and testimonies of life in days past. See for instance the Ethnographic Museum of the Valley at Zogno, housed in a 16thcentury mansion, the Museum of the Valley at Schilpario, set up in a former water-driven sawmill dating from the 19th century, or the Museum of Upper Val Brembana at Valtorta, in the 16th-century mansion of the former Venetian Magistrate.

Also of interest are the Museum of the Lujo Valley at Albino, in the

Parco Naturale del Serio to protect the strips of terrain adjacent to this river; the Park is spread over 7500 hectares of land from Seriate to Montòdine, at the confluence of the River Adda. A separate sector is that traditionally called Isola, a small area, triangular in shape, that is wedged between the Adda and Brembo rivers. Bound to the north by a band of hills that culminates in Mt Canto, the territory owes the survival of its traditional aspects to the fact that it lies in a ‘peripheral’ position with regard

church of the S. Cuore, and the Folk Museum of Verdello, in Palazzo Comunale.

The Carpentry Museum of Almenno San Bartolomeo, which offers a rare and comprehensive description of the woodworking culture, is the only one of its kind in Europe.

The Carpentry Museum

to the main axes of communication and trade. The very special charm of the landscape is, on the other hand, due to the presence of rivers - the Adda in particular that flow low down in sunken beds.

The Bergamo hills The rolling band of hills that extends northwest of the provincial capital to Mt Canto Alto was included in the Parco Regionale dei Colli di Bergamo in 1977.

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the TERRITORY

Cycling along the Adda Perhaps the ideal image of the Lombard countryside should be sought along the course of the River Adda. Rolling hills, patches of vegetation reflected in tranquil waters, isolated buildings that bear witness to a nature tamed by man - it is a landscape of remarkable beauty and was chosen by Leonardo da Vinci as the backdrop to his Mona Lisa and other famous paintings by him. The river habitat discovered along the well sunken banks of the river or by cycling down dirt tracks remains extraordinarily intact. The most surprising thing is that, just a few kilometres from factories, roads

Villa D’Adda, the ferry on the river Adda

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and major urban centres, the landscape maintains its natural traits, with thick arboreal vegetation of alder, white willow, black poplar and locust trees; nor is it a rare occurrence to encounter blue herons hidden amidst the reeds or little white egrets on the edges of the river. The signs of man’s presence are not lacking along this important watercourse, the geographical and historical boundary between west Lombardy, subject to Milan, and east Lombardy, the Bergamo portion of which is a reminder of the outermost limits of Venetian domination. Not only are there old locks, hollows and canals, but also power stations built at the end of the 19th century. On this landscape dominated by nature, ‘constructed’ elements manage to live in perfect harmony with the habitat.

The area presents many scenic, environmental and cultural values, but the most striking aspect is the way the landscape changes immediately outside the city walls. Although Bergamo extends to the east with suburbs that conserve strong urban traits, these seem to suddenly vanish here.

So, close to the city, you will come across secluded spots, solitary valleys and small quiet villages.

nature, landscape and the environment

Lake Iseo at Predore

The pre-Alpine valleys Although industry is the factor that has most transformed the face of the strip of land at the foot of the mountains, in more recent times tourism has brought change to the upper and middle Bergamo valleys. Thus, the territory in the more northern sector of the province is also marked by a prevalence of modern tourist-residential features, favoured by the presence of vast plateaus well suited to skiing. There is, however, no lack of places and villages that conserve the original traits of this system of valleys arranged perpendicularly to the Orobie Alps range. Upon leaving the well-beaten tracks, you will discover landscapes that are still intact and full of charm, where the rivers form sheer waterfalls and woods of fir trees surround villages of stone

and wood houses. An excursion to the old refuge huts offers an opportunity to rediscover the traditional flavours and the most authentic feel of the Bergamo mountains. One must is the spectacular Enna gorge situated at the point where the road from Val Taleggio descends into the verdant San Giovanni Bianco hollow, in Val Brembana. Here the river flows for approximately three kilometres between high narrow rock walls, furrowed by vertical gorges. The bestknown Alpine panoramas in the whole province are, nonetheless, those of the mighty Presolana range, with crags and harshly beautiful Dolomitic rock faces. Good starting points for hikes and excursions are Castione della Presolana and the Presolana Pass, today these are busy tourist resorts both in summer and winter.

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the TERRITORY

Sport and health Naturally, the mountains are central to an itinerary given over to sport - synonymous with health and complete well-being.

There are holiday resorts equipped for snow enthusiasts, but also places where you can gain new strength on relaxing walks through woods, making excursions to explore spots where nature remains intact, or relax in the delight of doing nothing at all. A thousand possible itineraries mean it will not be difficult to find a dimension that responds to personal bents and passions.

The first tourist resorts Tourism is a consolidated tradi- clientele, drawn here by the ption in the Bergamo valleys, as is resence of a curative water confirmed by the presence of spring. San Pellegrino Terme hotel and reception structures (see box) is, however, the true that date from the first decades queen of the ‘fin de siècle’ of the 20th century. Those very tourist resorts, lying in a verdant years saw the birth of the spa hollow on both sides of the River and holiday resorts that trans- Brembo. This town conserves formed the economy of many villages, and led to the most recent success of tourism. Certainly, in the beginning, it was mainly the spas that were visited for regenerating holidays.

At Sant’Ombono Imagna you can still admire the elegant design of hotels built in the 1920s and 1930s for a refined San Pellegrino, Art Nouveau stained glass windows at the Casino 8

sport and health

San Pellegrino, the lady of art nouveau Sumptuous reception rooms in the Grand Hôtel, walks along the river, porticoes, gardens, celebrations and musical afternoons, San Pellegrino Terme bore all the marks of an elegant ‘ville d’eau’ and became a popular and renowned spa resort between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Records of this successful period and precious evidence of the tastes of the times are to be seen in its Art Nouveau villas, immersed vegetation, and Palazzo della Fonte, featuring a luxury Pompeii-style drinking salon. A portico joins this building in a single complex with the municipal Casino, which with its exuberant

the Art Nouveau imprint of a refined ‘ville d’eau’ and its fame is bound to mineral water springs already known in the 13th century but not exploited until the 1700s. Trescore Balneario, the main town in Val Cavallina, is also known for its old springs of cold sodium-chloride and sulphurous water, which supply the local spas.

Skiing resorts in the Brembo valleys The high peaks of the Pizzo dei Tre Signori, Corno Stella and Pizzo Arera tower majestically

decorations represents one of Lombardy’s most significant examples of Art Nouveau.

S. Pellegrino, the Municipal Casino.

The reception room (detail)

over the mountain landscape of the upper Val Brembana.

Furrowed by two main branches of the River Brembo which flow together at Lenna, this opens like a fan into a number of picturesque valleys that descend from the Orobie Alps.

One of the most popular winter resorts is Fòppolo, lying in a hollow in Val Brembana, between the Orobie ridge and the spurs 9

the TERRITORY

Traditional flavours All over the province of Bergamo polenta is of course the queen of the table - compact and yellow, it comes sliced as required by tradition. Cooked, if possible, over a wood fire in the characteristic copper cauldrons that give it a more decisive flavour, it can be served with butter and melted cheese, or admirably accompanied by braised meat and "codeghì", the tastiest pork sausage. Even a dessert mimics this dish - a ring-shaped cake, yellow like polenta, adorned with chocolate birds. Of the meat dishes "polsetto" (boiled veal) is one of the most characteristic and first courses must include "casonsei", vegetable ravioli with the added flavour of melted butter.

Taleggio is only the best known of the numerous cheeses that are still produced in the

“Formai de mut” (Traditional mountain cheese)

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Bergamo valleys using traditional skills. But also of note are the formaggelle of Val di Scalve and Branzi, used in the preparation of polenta taragna.

Although less renowned for this than other parts of Lombardy, the province of Bergamo does boast its own wine-producing area, in the band of hills at the foot of the mountains that embraces the provincial capital from Almenno to Sàrnico, on Lake Iseo. Here the DOC wines are white Valcalepio, a dry wine used as an aperitif or to accompany light dishes, and red Valcalepio, ruby in colour with an intense bouquet and a dry lasting taste. This is the ideal accompaniment to richer dishes, ripened cheeses and the ever-present polenta. The local dessert wine is called Moscato di Scanso, sweet and harmonious, and leaves a slight almond aftertaste. The mineral waters of the Berga-mo valleys are renowned the world over and they also produce excellent honey here.

of Pizzo del Vescovo. Ski lifts, hotels and a proliferation of holiday homes have radically changed the original face of this town, which has now forgotten

sport and health

its traditional farming and craft vocations.

From here, a detour off the road that rises from Branzi leads quickly to the small skiing resort of San Simone. The road that climbs up the Mezzoldo valley, formed by the western branch of the upper River Brembo, will take you to Piazzatorre, another bustling summer and winter holiday resort. Cusio, in Val Bindo, is also popular for winter sports, although the recent tourist development has not totally erased its traditional woodcar ving craft. Among the old buildings is the former Venetian Dogana (customs), a building of 15thcentury origin that bears witness to the role played by this valley as a place of commercial transit.

Schilpario, Cimon della Bagozza

Holidays in Val Seriana and Val di Scalve A road branches off from Nembro, a large industrial town in the lower part of the valley, to Selvino, lying on the spur that di-

Orobie Alps range, Pizzo del Diavolo

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the TERRITORY

vides the Serio river valley from that formed by the River Brembo. Gromo is a pole of summer and winter tourism in Val Seriana and, in its upper part, conserves the appearance of a medieval village. A scenic road climbs to the Piano degli Spiazzi, popular among skiers and hikers. The road along the upper Val Seriana ends at Lizzola, seat of the scattered commune of Valbondione, the most widespread in the Province. A summer and winter holiday destination, this resort has not lost its traditional appearance and indeed modern buildings stand alongside old houses with slate roofs. From Clusone, ‘capital’ of upper and middle Val Seriana,

Averara, the porticoed road

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the road leads to the Presolana Pass, a winter sports resort but also the base for hikes and climbs in the Presolana range.

Once past Rovetta, lying on a gently undulating plain, you will come to Castione della Presolana, which together with the nearby towns of Bratto and Dorga and the Monte Pora ski slopes, forms one of the best known and most popular skiing districts in the province. A road descends steeply from the Pass through beautiful scenery into Val di Scalve, a sort of ‘corridor’ between Valle Seriana and Valcamònica. Once known for its iron deposits and woods, it has gradually been converted to tourism, as is shown by the

sport and health

Lake Endine

houses, hotels and sports facilities of Schilpario, the largest centre in the valley.

Lakes Endine and Iseo A natural and in many ways still unaltered landscape surrounds Lake Èndine, a small sheet of water (km2 2.3) formed by the River Cherio in the flat open Val Cavallina. Monasterolo del Castello, on the south shore of the lake, is named after the nearby manor, which dates from the year One Thousand but was rebuilt several times. The delightful lake village features an interesting 18thcentury construction that joins the two squares in the medieval old centre.

Also on Bergamo territory is the west shore of Lake Iseo - or Sebino - formed by the River Oglio in the terminal section of Valcamònica.

Two interesting towns stand at the

end of the lake. To the north is Lóvere, still with medieval areas and an important picture gallery, founded in 1828 by the benefactor Luigi Tadini from Cremona; to the south is Sàrnico, the compact old centre with lovely narrow streets, covered passages, loggias and porticoed houses.

Lake Gaiano in Val Cavallina

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ART and CULTURE

Masterpieces to be visited Romanesque churches, Renaissance mansions, baroque buildings, neo-classical villas and Art Nouveau. The extraordinary wealth of the province of Bergamo makes it impossible to concentrate an itinerary exploring works of art in a small area. A better idea is to start from the heart of Bergamo Alta and indicate just a few essentials and leave the pleasure of discovering other ‘ideal tours’ to personal taste and passions.

The old heart of Bergamo Where Piazza Vecchia, the most representative space in Bergamo Alta, stands today there used to be medieval

Bergamo, S. Maria Maggiore and the Duomo

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houses and shops, of which a reminder that can be seen at the base of the high tower of Palazzo del Comune.

Adorned with an 18th-century fountain, the square is indeed a Renaissance space and was created in the 15th century by demolishing the buildings close to Palazzo della Ragione - erected in the middle of the 12th century but rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries. Also marking the square are Palazzo Nuovo, designed in 1593 and redesigned in 1611, and Palazzo del PodestĂ , originally dating from 1340 but transformed in the 15th century. The loggia of Palazzo della Ragione leads into the intact and secluded Piazza del Duomo, one of the loveliest squares in Lombardy. On this square stand the Duomo, dating from the 16th century, restructured in 1459

by Filarete but revamped in 1688 and not completed until 1886; the remarkable Basilica of S. Maria Maggiore, pre-

masterpieces to be visited

ceded by a Romanesque porch; and the elegant Colleoni chapel, one of the finest examples of Lombard Renaissance art, built by Bartolomeo Colleoni as his personal mausoleum.

The small octagonal Baptistery has only stood in front of the gardens of the Arcivescovado since 1898. When it was constructed - in 1340 - it was inside S. Maria Maggiore and there it remained until 1660, when it was entirely dismantled.

The other towns on the plain The walls that used to surround Treviglio no longer exist. Because of its position - midway between Bergamo and Milan and at the junction of roads to Crema and Brescia - it acquired the traditional role of a trade centre. In the central square, the collegiate of S. Martino tells an old story, that commenced with its foundation in the 10th-11th century, continued in the 15th century with a first remake and then again in the 18th century, when it was given its animated baroque façade.

Worthy of note inside is a polyptych by Bernardino Butinone and Bernardino Zenale (1485), conserved at the end of the right hand aisle. Romano di Lombardia also owes it function as a trade pole and the town’s traditional vocation to the fact that it stands at a point where major roads meet. Besides the Visconti castle,

Bergamo, Piazza Vecchia

an indication of its long history is seen in the medieval Palazzo della ComunitĂ , altered by the Venetians in the 15th century; al-

Bergamo, the Colleoni Chapel

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ART and CULTURE

The treasures of the Accademia Carrara There are truly many fine works to be admired in the picture gallery of the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, founded in 1795 and considered one of the richest museum collections in Italy. The approximately 1700 paintings, by artists Italian and non-, dating from the 15th to the 18th century reveal a clear predominance of the schools of Bergamo, Lombardy and Venice, bearing witness to the strong bonds between the various cultural circles of the times. Hence, although the refined atmosphere of international Gothic lives on in the tarot cards painted by Bonifacio Bembo for Filippo Maria Visconti and the passage of Leonardo can indeed be seen in many 15th-century

Lombard painters, the influence of the Venetian Republic is evident in several works painted in Bergamo and its province. Of note among these are - besides important paintings by Lorenzo Lotto paintings by G.B. Moroni (portraits from his early years to maturity), Evaristo Baschenis (four paintings showing musical instruments) and a large repertoire of portraits executed by Fra’ Galgario. The Accademia Carrara also presents two interesting portraits by Carlo Ceresa: to gain greater familiarity with this 17thcentury local painter you can follow the Itinerario Ceresiano, featuring 16 paintings in eight churches in San Giovanni Bianco, his birthplace.

Accademia Carrara, still life by Evaristo Baschenis

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masterpieces to be visited

The romanesque country church of S. Tomé Scholars agree that not only is the country church of S. Tomé one of the most important artistic expressions in the whole province, it is also one of the loveliest Romanesque constructions with a central plan in all Lombardy. Built in the 11th or early 12th century in ashlar stone, the small church stands out in the countryside at the foot of Almenno San Bartolomeo, in Valle Imagna. The building has a cylindrical main body to which was added the presbytery with a semicircular apse.

The circular lines are also repeated inside, in the two levels of the ambulatory, in the women’s

so in the centre of the town is the picturesque parish church of S. Maria Assunta, which contains paintings by G.B. Moroni. The tall bell-tower of the church of S.

gallery, in the niches in the walls and in the presbytery, as well as in the fine dome with annular vaults.

Almenno S. Bartolomeo, S. Tomé

Maria dell’Incoronata, erected in the second half of the 15th century and adorned with 15th-16th century frescoes, heralds from afar Martinengo, with its remarkable Piazza Maggiore featuring porticoed buildings and the 17thcentury Palazzo del Comune

Val Seriana

Clusone - the Oratory of the Disciplini.

The Death Dance (detail)

The porticoed houses of Alzano Lombardo used to belong to the rich silk and wool merchants who brought prosperity to this centre at 17

ART and CULTURE the entrance to Val Seriana in the 15th-16th centuries. Its imposing Basilica of S. Martino was commenced in 1659 although it was not completed until the early 19th century. Inside it contains important paintings (G.B. Piazzetta, Palma the Elder, Jacopo Tintoretto) and a monumental marble pulpit by Andrea Fantoni (1712), also responsible for the wood inlays in one of the three magnificent sacristies.

Climbing up the Serio valley, though a still intensely urbanised landscape, you will come to Albino.

Standing on its central square is the church of S. Bartolomeo, of 13thcentury origin but remade in the 15th and 17th centuries, and the 19th-century parish church of S. Giuliano, which contains two paintings by G.B. Moroni, born in or around 1523 in a local hamlet.

Next comes Gandino, where the impressive Basilica of S. Maria Assunta, with its rich baroque inte-

Accademia Carrara, G. B. Moroni, Little girl of the Redetti family

rior, is a 17th-century reconstruction of an existing church. The best known and most precious work is, however, to be found at Clusone, which because of its position at the crossroads between Lake Iseo and Valcamònica, was a major trading village in Roman times. This is a cycle of frescoes beneath the porticoes of the 15th-century oratory of the Disciplini, painted in 1485 by Giacomo Borlone and his workshop.

Val Cavallina and Lake Iseo

S. Paolo d’Argon, the cloister of the monastery

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Painting enthusiasts will discover fine works in centres in the open and flat Val Cavallina,

masterpieces to be visited

formed by the River Cherio. As well as the frescoes by Lorenzo Lotto at Trescore Balneario, an essential stop is the Galleria dell’Accademia Tadini at Lóvere, which boasts major paintings of the 14th-19th-century Venetian and Lombard schools.

While there also visit the Basilica of S. Maria in Valvendra, erected in the second half of the 15th centur y perhaps by Comacine masters. Of note on the main altar is a 16th-century Annunciation by Pietro Morone, enclosed in a monumental wooden ancona. The tour then continues in Val Calepio, lying between the Cherio and Oglio rivers.

Rolling hills will lead you to Credaro to visit a cycle of frescoes by Lorenzo Lotto in the small church of S. Giorgio.

Frescoes by Romanino can be

Lovere, Accademia Tadini

admired in the commune of Villongo; paintings for the 16thcentury chapel of S. Rocco are now on display in the adjacent Casa Bonduri. The tour ends at Sàrnico, on Lake Iseo. Here there are no precious paintings, but Villa Faccanoni, designed in 1912

by Giuseppe Sommaruga, is a refined example of Art Nouveau architecture.

Sarnico, Villa Faccanoni (Photo by Giuseppe Zanchi)

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ART and CULTURE

Sanctuaries, monasteries and abbeys In a land where religious spirit is closely entwined with traditional culture many places are linked to faith and popular devotion. Sanctuaries visited by masses of believers, secluded silent monasteries, churches that are the fulcrum of towns and old, solitary abbeys become stops on a journey through the province. A journey that seeks out the truest roots but also of some of the finest moments in the path of art.

The environs of Bergamo Lying on the bottom of a silent valley not far outside Bergamo, the monaster y of Astino is reached along a steep and narrow road that descends the eastern slope of the San Vigilio hill. Founded in the early 12th century by the monks of Vallombrosa to house a holy relic

brought from Jerusalem by the first crusaders, the monastery (today abandoned) was extensively restructured in 1515 to develop a larger and more sumptuous complex. The works continued for more than a centur y and added a deep Renaissance choir and a porti-

The monastery of Astino, in the green scenery of the Bergamo hills

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sanctuaries, monasteries and abbeys

Bergamo, the home of Donizetti Musicians, lovers of good music and enthusiastic melomaniacs can follow a tour in Bergamo that retraces the life of Gaetano Donizetti, born here in 1797. The composer was born in a humble house at No. 14 Borgo Canale but the building in which he died in 1848 - Palazzo Scotti - is a fine baroque construction standing in the street named after him. A visit must be made to the Donizetti Museum, set up in the former Palazzo della Misericordia Maggiore, of 15th-century origin but revamped in baroque times. It houses hand-written manuscripts, first printed editions, documents and personal items, including the furnishings from his last bedroom and two pianos that belonged to the

coed cloister, linked by an elegant loggia, to the church. The contrast between the agricultural landscape of the small valley and the city suburbs is great, as too is that between the old monastery and the church of Maria Santissima Immacolata, built in 1962-65 at Lònguelo, a hamlet of Bergamo.

The abbey of Pontida The oath of Pontida represents one of the most celebrated pages in schoolbooks. Yet history does not confirm the tradition, accord-

maestro. The tour ends with the Donizetti theatre, founded in 1786 and the venue for the Festival Donizettiano, an important musical event dedicated every year by the city to the illustrious composer, also celebrated by a nearby monument by Francesco Ierace (1897).

Sotto il Monte, the abbey of S. Egidio at Fontanella

ing to which it was in this old abbey, on 7 April 1167, that the representatives of the Lombard League made a pact to prevent the Emperor Federico I Barbarossa from jeopardising the freedom of 21

ART and CULTURE

Sotto il Monte, the home of Pope John XXIII

the Communes. What is certain, on the other hand, is that the monastery of S. Giacomo Maggiore, founded in the second half of the 11th century and better known as the abbey of Pontida, was, in the Middle Ages, the economic and cultural centre of a vast area in the Adda valley. Destroyed by the Visconti family in 1373, it was rebuilt in several stages from 1485 on. Of the 16th-century structure it conserves two virtually intact cloisters (in the portico of the upper one, frescoes of popes of the Benedictine order and figures who renounced high honour for the monk’s habit), the chapterhouse (early 16th-century fres22

coes) and three rooms that today house the abbey museum. A modern flight of steps climbs to the basilica, its façade and bell-tower were rebuilt in the early 19th century. The interior of the monastery conserves, at least in its central body, the pointed forms of 14thcentury architecture and two sculpted stone panels in Burgundian art (late 11th-early 12th C.) inserted in the modern main altar, date from the first church.

The home of the ‘good pope’ A few kilometres separate Pontida from Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII, a rural centre fa-

sanctuaries, monasteries and abbeys

In the footsteps of Lorenzo Lotto The thirteen years that Lorenzo Lotto spent in Bergamo were probably the happiest of his long and restless life. Valued by the powerful local families, this painter of Venetian origin - today considered one of the most fascinating artists of the Renaissance - produced major works which exude a profoundly religious soul and a highly unusual attention to details, which often become metaphors. Of the altarpieces kept in the provincial capital, the most famous is that of the Madonna, Child and Saints in the church of S. Bartolomeo, better known as the "Martinengo altarpiece". Also of particular note are cycle of frescoes on the Life of Mary in the church of S. Michele al Pozzo Bianco and the precious wooden inlays designed for the choir of S. Maria Maggiore. A city tour retracing the footsteps of Lorenzo Lotto cannot fail to visit the Accademia Carrara, which displays the predellas of the Mar-

mous because it was the birthplace of John XXIII - Angelo Roncalli in the world - Pope from 1958 to 1963. His home is a destination for pilgrims and many believers also visit the commemorative museum set up in the Ca’ Maitino that was the prelate’s

tinengo altarpiece, the painting depicting the Mystical Marriage of St Catherine and the intense Portrait of Lucina Brembati.

Paintings by Lotto can also be found around the province of Bergamo: an altarpiece in the parish church of Sedrina, a polyptych in the 15th-century parish church of SS. Vincenzo e Alessandro at Ponterànica and frescoes in a chapel in the church of S. Giorgio at Credaro. The frescoes portraying the life of the saint in the church of S. Barbara at Trescore Balneario are a veritable masterpiece in which the immediate narrative invention and wealth of detail confirm the painter’s adhesion to traditional Lombard naturalism.

Trescore, the Suardi Oratory.

Frescoes by Lorenzo Lotto

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ART and CULTURE

The Sanctuary of Madonna di Caravaggio

summer residence during his period as cardinal. In the hamlet of Fontanella stands the church of S. Egidio, with a simple Romanesque faรงade and 16thcentury frescoes inside. It is all that remains of the abbey of Fontanella, founded in the 11th century by Cluniac monks.

The sanctuaries of Caravaggio and Treviglio Apparently, in far off 1571, this was the birthplace of Michelangelo Merisi, the restless and talented maestro known as Cara-vaggio who emphasised the dramatic intensity of his paintings with light and shade. However, this old village 24

southeast of Treviglio is mainly known for the sanctuary of the Madonna di Caravaggio, built in or around the 16th century on the spot where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a humble peasant woman. Visited by pilgrims, the grand complex now presents the appearance of the reconstruction ordered by Carlo Borromeo which, although commenced in 1575, was not completed until the early 18th century. Popular devotion also tells of a miracle of the past in nearby Treviglio. In 1522, the tears wept by an image of the Madonna are said to have saved the centre of the Bergamo plain from being sacked

by French soldiers. On the spot where the miracle occurred build-

sanctuaries, monasteries and abbeys

ing commenced in 1594 of the sanctuary of the Beata Vergine delle Lacrime, extended and transformed in the early 20th century.

A sanctuary in the Bergamo valleys Although it derives from a common church of the 11th century, the layout of the sanctuary of the Madonna del Castello at Almenno San Salvatore dates from the 16th century. This old centre is situated on a rise to the right of the River Brembo, at the point where the Imagna valley enters in Val Brembana. On the outside the church features a marble portal, built in 1578; the unusual interior is divided in two

Fraggio in Val Taleggio

by a frescoed wall. The front part has a ciborium of the 16th century and the inner portion, older and decorated with frescoes of the 11th-16th centuries, houses a Romanesque ambo in sculpted stone.

Clusone, S. Lucio

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Industrial archaeology itineraries Old spinning mills, power stations and workers’ villages based on English models. An interesting chapter on the origins of industrial Italy is written on the plain and in the lower Bergamo valleys where, starting in the middle of the 19th century, the foundations were laid for the gradual development of production structures. This led to the industrial boom that in certain areas became ever more firmly rooted and radically changed the economy as well as the very appearance of the territory.

The roots of industry The origins of local industrialisation date from the period when it was annexed by the Venetian Republic; this included

it in a larger economic circuit and encouraged the local craft tradition, based on spinning and weaving. One of the most signif-

The Esterle hydroelectric station on the right bank of the river Adda

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industrial archaeology itineraries

The old “Via Priula” This road, built in 1590 by the Podestà Alvise Priuli (after whom it is named) was responsible for the economic development of the upper Val Brembana, which from an outlying and isolated area in the 17th century became an important transit and communication route between Venetian Lombardy and the Valtellina domain of the Leagues of Grisons. You can still follow the 16th-century route, climbing the west branch of the upper River Brembo from Lenna and passing through the Mezzoldo valley. The village of Mezzoldo was the last Venetian post along "Via Priula" and the 17th-century building seen on the left as you enter the village is one of the many customs posts built by the Venetian Republic along the

icant memories of this industrial vocation is to be seen at Vèrtova, in lower Val Seriana.

The oldest part of the village conserves its characteristic wooden porticoes, called "ciodére" after the long row of nails that served to hang out the woollen cloths. Not, however, until the 19th century did the real and precocious industrial boom take place - favoured certainly by an abundance of man-

trade routes. Once past the Ca’ San Marco roadhouse, which still bears a winged lion, the symbol of Venice, you come to the San Marco Pass (1985m), from which you descend to Morbegno, in Valtellina.

Mezzoldo, the winged lion on Cà San Marco

power and the presence of watercourses with a considerable flow and even gradient.

Factories in Val Seriana The Swiss industrialist Gioachino Zopfi built a spinning mill on the banks of the River Serio, at Rànica, in 1869. In little more than a decade this had become 27

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Mining activities LIron mines of Val Seriana, marble quarries and lead and zinc deposits in Val Brembana and Val Serina. As early as Roman times, the mineral wealth of the Bergamo valleys was known and was certainly instrumental in

The Museum at Schilpario

a major manufacturing works with 5,600 spindles and 640 looms. The building that was used for weaving can still be seen at the entrance to the village, along with a number of service blocks and workers’ 28

their early industrial development.

Today, all that remains of the mining industry are records and evidence kept in some interesting museums. The Ethnographic Museum of Ardesio, in Val Seriana, illustrates the history of the silver mine discovered here in the 11th century. The Oltre il Colle Museum of Minerals and the Mine, in Val Serina, has a collection of miners’ equipment and minerals from local deposits. Tools and equipment used in the iron mines are also exhibited at Schilpario, in the Ethnographic Museum of the Valley. This museum illustrating the life and traditional activities of the local populations is set up in a former 19th-century waterdriven sawmill.

houses with balconies. Clearly recognisable in the building fabric are the production, residential and official buildings linked to the presence of the Zopfi cotton mill, which transformed the old village into a sort of ‘modern’ industrial one. As you travel through Val Seriana you will encounter more examples of industrial archaeology, such as the Crespi factory buildings at Nembro, those of the Honneger cotton mill (1878) at the en-

industrial archaeology itineraries

trance to Albino and those of the Cantoni (formerly Bergamasco and from 1910 De Angeli Frua) cotton mill at Ponte Nossa. Albeit greatly modified by alterations, there are even examples of old factories in the upper part of the valley.

See, for instance, the buildings of the Festi Rasini works and the Pozzi Electa factory, with structures dating from 1889, which lie along the right bank of the river at Villa d’Ogna.

Industrial centres on the upper and lower plain More than anywhere else in the province of Bergamo, it is at Dàlmine that you will understand not only the strong connection between industry and territory, but also the major impact that production structures often have on the environment.

The large iron and steel complex created in 1906 with the aid of foreign capital and purchased by Italian industrialists in 1916 - is spread over a long series of shop floors that line the main road and motorway. Founded in 1965 in response to the decentralisation of production and services from Bergamo and Milan, Zingònia is a sort of ‘new town’, the original project of which was based on the concept of a 19th-century workers’ villages. Another interesting

Crespi d’Adda, the entrance to the cotton mill

example on the Bergamo plain goes back once more to the origins of industry and is that of Fara Gera d’Adda, where the Linificio Canapificio Nazionale (linen mill) was developed starting in 1870, on a total surface area of nearly 50,000 square metres. The creation of the vast manufacturing complex radically altered the rural nature of the centre, which turned into a typical factory village, with services, public assistance services and houses for the workers.

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Crespi d’Adda, “The Castle”

Crespi d’Adda, an ‘ideal town’ A tree-lined avenue separates the production zone from the houses,

Crespi d’Adda, windows of the cotton mill

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overlooking a chequer-board road plan. On one side are the Cotton mill (1875), with its tall brick chimney, the Castello (1849-97), the eclectic home of the owner, and the buildings used to accommodate unmarried workers (1880). On the other side stand the houses of the workers with families (1889-94), complete with vegetable patch and garden, and, farther out, the houses of the office workers and directors.

There is a church, a public washhouse, theatre, school, co-operative shop and, beyond the sports ground, the cemetery. On the Bergamo side of the River Adda is what can quite rightly be considered one of the most interesting and best preserved examples of a workers’ village, which combines AngloSaxon models with clear references to the socialist utopias of the times.

Developed between 1890 and 1910

industrial archaeology itineraries

The Paderno bridge acros the river Adda

thanks to the philanthropic designs of textile entrepreneurs, Crespi d’Adda is still an extraordinary record, not just of early industry in Italy but also of a train of thought that sought to construct an ideal community that would strike a perfect balance between workers’ needs and the interests of the owner.

conceived in the early 16th century to improve navigation between Milan and Lake Como, although it was not built until the last quarter of the 18th century. Upstream from the canal the immense iron arch of the Paderno bridge, built in 188789, crosses the river.

Following the River Adda An itinerary based on the theme of industrial archaeology cannot fail to climb the course of the River Adda. From Porto d’Adda (a hamlet of Cornate d’Adda) descend to the Bertini hydroelectric station, built in 1898. For years one of the major power plants in Europe, it was then flanked in 1914 by the Esterle hydroelectric station, at nearby Resega. The River Adda then meets the Paderno shipping canal,

Gromo S. Marino, the entrance to the hydroelectric station (detail)

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Walls, castles and medieval villages The struggles that set the Guelphs against the Ghibellines in the Commune period, the clashes between the Visconti family of Milan and the Venetians in the age of the Seigniories and the Venetian Republic’s desire to protect its mainland possessions with a sort of fortified bulwark. These needs to control and defend the lands lay at the origin of the high walls built around the towns, the austere castles used as military garrisons and the fortifications that on the territory of Bergamo delineate an admirable itinerary visiting splendid examples of military engineering.

The walls of Bergamo A good starting point are the walls that enclose Bergamo Alta, built by the Venetians in the 16th century to defend the old nucleus of the town. Not only do the monumental gates, platforms with operating chambers and cannons, ramparts and huge bastions constitute a major ex-

ample of Renaissance wall enclosures, but they are also a fundamental part of the urban landscape. The complex and well-preserved fortified ring still encloses the upper part of the city in a sort of cornice, almost isolating it in a timeless dimension that has conserved the medieval charm of the centre. Baluardo di S. Giovanni is the best spot in which to gain an understanding of the complex bellicose geometry. From the esplanade the view sweeps as far as Baluardo di S. Giacomo, which constitutes the southern most spur of the fortified complex.

The Visconti castles

Bergamo, S. Giacomo’s gate

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The plain to the south of the provincial capital is not lacking in examples of military art, built on an area that saw a succession of different rulers from the early Middle Ages on - first

walls, castles and medieval villages

A medieval village Originally this was a stronghold, one of those unexciting austere ones that were commonly built on the top of a hill in the 14th century. Then the castle of the Angeli, which dominated the small centre of Carobbio degli Angeli, situated a few kilometres south of Trescore Balneario, was

the Milanese, then the Venetians, the French, the Spanish and the Austrians. The Visconti domain was responsible for the castles built on the territory to the north of Treviglio, between the Adda and Serio rivers.

The lovely castle of Pagazzano is still surrounded by a moat and has a rectangular plan with high brick walls. A few kilometres farther north, the cas-

turned into a convent for the monastic order of the Carmelites. Gradually a rural village grew up around the original nucleus, with stone houses huddled one up against the other and winding streets. Now, centuries later, they still create a scene of particular and unaltered delight.

tle of Brignano Gera d’Adda has lost its original appearance as it was transformed in the 18th century into a sumptuous country residence, with an Italian garden and rooms with rich baroque decorations.

Although Cologno al Serio conserves only part of its medieval fortifications, reinforced in the 15th-16th centuries and demolished in the 1800s,

The castle of Pagazzano

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the Rocca di Urgnano remains intact.

This austere castle with high crenellated walls was erected in 1354 by Giovanni Visconti, archbishop of Milan, and passed in 1465 to Bartolomeo Colleoni. The Visconti family also built the majestic castle of Romano di Lombardia, with its four mighty corner towers, but the Lion of St Mark in the large courtyard confirms a subsequent Venetian presence.

Bartolomeo Colleoni’s Palace The castle of Malpaga is of 14thcentury origin and situated a little way outside Ghisalba, incorporated in a vast farming estate near the River Serio. The present appearance of the complex is the work of Bartolomeo Colleoni, who purchased the manor in 1456 for use as his personal residence. After returning to the service of the Venetian Republic, the illustrious condottiere felt the need for a place of refuge that was both palace and fortress. For this reason, he strengthened the existing structures but also decided on works that would make life in those austere rooms more pleasant, giving them features and decorations that also celebrated his feats of war. Hence, a large fresco painted by Romanino under the portico in the main courtyard illustrates the battle of the Riccardina, his last military undertaking and 34

Farmstead at Olda in Valle Taleggio

the walls of the large reception hall narrate in the form of a long story the visit made by Christian, King of Denmark, to Colleoni on 12 March 1474. The artist responsible for this precious cycle of frescoes was probably Marcello Fagolino, although many critics see the hand of Romanino here too.

Suardo Castle During Venetian rule the Bergamo valleys became a strategically important link between the Venetian Republic and the heart of Europe.

At the same time, they constituted the outermost point of defence for its mainland possessions and witnessed the development of a new roads and village structure, with many of them becoming market centres and seats of Venetian administration. The ‘peace works’ implemented by Venice in the 15th century included the dismantling of the Val Cavallina defence system, which dated from medieval times.

One of the few fortifications to re-

walls, castles and medieval villages

Cornello, a remnant of the middle ages Just a few minutes’ walk along the path that branches off the main Val Brembana road slightly north of San Giovanni Bianco will plunge you straight into the Middle Ages. Still remarkably intact is the village of Cornello, famous as the place of origin of the Tasso family, which counts the poet Bernardo and his son Torquato, author of Gerusalemme Liberata, among its most illustrious members. According to tradition this old family founded a postal service in the 14th century and for many hundreds of years had a monopoly on postal services in Europe. What strikes visitors most, however, are not the historical memories but the

main is the Suardo castle at Bianzano, on the western shore of Lake Èndine. Dating from the 12th or 13th century, its perfect square, the double ring of walls, the drawbridge and the imposing tower rising above the entrance reflect the ‘cultured’ architecture of Lombard castles.

The Castle of Camozzi-Vertova Medieval walls, Renaissance views and neo-classical decorations - the phases of a complex history - are visible in the walls of the castle of Camozzi-Vertova, which dominates Costa di Mezzate, still a farming village in that hilly land called

delightful atmosphere created by stone houses, small paved courtyards, covered passageways and mansions adorned with coats of arms. Cornello seems to be under a subtle spell that has cancelled the passing of time and noise. Dominated by the Romanesque church of Ss. Cornelio e Cipriano (12th C.), this silent village is arranged around two streets. The lower street, covered with porticoes, passes through a number of rural courtyards, while the upper street is lined with the homes of the local nobles.

Cornello dei Tasso

Val Calepio, lying between the Cherio and Oglio rivers.

This spectacular complex consists of buildings constructed in several stages, from the 13th to the 18th centuries, and restored in the 1800s. A 13th-century tower on the hill that overlooks the castle is a memory of a lost medieval fortress.

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Schilpario, Cimon della Bagozza

Museums, Galleries, Sightseeing Castles and fortresses Spa resorts Skiing resorts Tourist offices and addresses

MUSEUMS, GALLERIES, SIGHTSEEING

BERGAMO Accademia Carrara - Piazza dell’Accademia, 82/A Telephone number: +39 (0)35/399643 www.accademiacarrara.bergamo.it Open:

Notes:

Closed on Mondays, 1 January, Easter Day, 25 December. from 1 October to 31 March: 9.30am-1.00pm and 2.30pm-5.45pm. from 1 April to 30 September: 10.00am-1.00pm and 3.00-6.45pm.

Guided tours on demand.

Admission free for students, teachers, retired (from 60), soldiers.

Admission fee: € 2,58 adults; € 1,55 reduced, groups of 15 or more, Touring Club.

The Accademia Carrara, one of the most important art galleries in Italy, contains about 1700 paintings among which works of art by Raphael, Mantegna, Pisanello, Bellini, Botticelli, Carpaccio, Tiepolo.

Portraits by G. B. Moroni, Vittore Ghislandi (Fra Galgario), Lorenzo Lotto. Palma il Vecchio, Palma il Giovane, Cariani, Baschenis, Cavagna are also present.

Basilica St. Maria Maggiore - P.za Duomo - Telephone numbers: Sacristy: +39 (0)35/223327 Open:

from November to March: from Monday to Friday: 9.00am-12.30pm and 2.30pm-5.00pm; Saturdays 9.00am-12.30pm and 2.30pm-6.00pm; Sundays and public holidays: 9.00am-1.00pm and 3.00pm-6.00pm. from 1 April to October: from Monday to Saturday: 9.00am-12.30pm and 2.30pm-6.00pm; Sundays and public holidays: 9.00am-1.00pm and 3.00pm-6.00pm.

No visits during religious offices.

Admission free

Notes:

Romanesque church started in 1137 and completed in 1200; porches (1353) by Giovanni da Campione; flemish tapestries; monument dedicated to Donizetti by V. Vela; inlaid woodworks on the presbytery front designed by Lorenzo Lotto; artistic wood confessional by A. Fantoni.

Underground level of the Venetian walls St. Michael “Le Nottole”- Telephone number: +39 (0)35/251233 Open:

from June to September, according to the programme “Estate, vivi la tua città” “(Summer, take part in your town life)”.

Midweek guided tours are also available for groups of 15 people or more, upon reservation and with charge.

Notes:

The perfect preservation of the inside allows to detect the imposing defensive system of the rampart.

Colleoni Chapel - Piazza Duomo - Telephone number:+39 (0)35/210061 (Colleoni Institute).

Open:

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Closed on Mondays (in winter), 25 December and 1 January. from November to February: 9.00am-12.30pm and 2.00pm-4.30pm. from March to October: 9.00am-12.30pm and 2.00pm-6.30pm Admission free

museums • galleries • sightseeing

Notes:

The Chapel was designed by G. A. Amadeo between 1472 and 1476 as the funerary monument dedicated to Bartolomeo Colleoni. It is considered the most outstanding Renaissance example in Lombardy.

Inside: statue by Sist of Nuremberg; graves of Colleoni and his daughter Medea; paintings and frescoes by Tiepolo.

Donizetti’s Home - Via Borgo Canale, 14 - Donizetti Foundation Telephone number +39 (0)35/244483; Fax number +39 (0)35/233488 Closed on restoration.

Notes:

Donizetti’s home consists of some faithfully restored rooms recreating the musician background between the end of the 18th Century and the beginning of the 19th Century.

Charitable Place “Colleoni” - Via Colleoni, 9/11 - Telephone number +39 (0)35/210061 Open:

It can be visited only upon reservation.

Admission free.

Notes:

Once Colleoni’s town residence, it now houses the Charitable Institute founded by the condottiere. Inside, 14th century frescoed rooms.

Church of “Saint Alessandro in Colonna” - Via S. Alessandro, 35 Telephone number +39 (0)35/248022 Open:

from Monday to Sunday: 07.00am-12.00am and 03.00pm-07.00pm.

The church tower can be visited only on religious holidays.

Notes:

The Church was founded by S. Grata in the “Vico Crotacio” and built in the place where the Saint Patron Alessandro suffered martyrdom. The building was transformed many times during the centuries. In the sacristy, a painting by Lorenzo Lotto, “Compianto su Cristo Morto” (Lamentation on dead Christ).

Church of Saint Bartolomeo - Largo Belotti, 1 - Telephone number: +39 (0)35/242705 Open: Notes:

10.30am-12.00am and 03.30pm-05.30pm The Church was named after the Saint Bartolomeo and Saint Stefano dominican original church destroyed in 1561 by the Venetians, because located where the Venetian Walls were to be built. The present building was erected between 1603 and 1642.

Inside the church, painting by Lorenzo Lotto “Pala Martinengo” (after the patron).

This masterpiece represents the Blessed Virgin Mary’s coronation and the Glory of the Saints.

Church of Saint Bernardino - Via Pignolo, 59 - Telephone number: +39 (0)35/230037 Open:

from Monday to Friday: 08.00am-11.00pm and 04.00pm-06.00pm Sundays and public holidays: 09.00am-12.00am; Saturdays and holiday eves: 08.00am-11.30am.

Visits in different hours on demand.

Note:

The church was built in the second half of the 15th Century, following the profound local devotion for the Saint after his preaching in Bergamo. Inside the church the altar-piece “Madonna on the throne with Saints” by Lorenzo Lotto.

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Fontana del Lantro - Lantro Fountain - Via Boccola Info at “Gruppo Speleologico Bergamasco Le nottole” Ph. +39 (0)35/251233 Open:

Free guided tours from June to September each first Sunday.

Visits can be booked also in different periods, with charge and planned for 15 people or more.

Notes:

This fountain dates back to the Middle Ages. It has been mentioned since 928 and has still a big reservoir. It was used till the ‘50s for public purposes.

The whole building was restored in 1991.

Contemporary and Modern art Gallery Via S. Tommaso, 53 - Ph. +39 (0)35/399528-9 or www.gamec.it Opened in 1991, the GAMEC hosts temporary exhibitions.

Open: During temporary exhibitions: from Tuesday to Sunday 10.00am-9.00pm (Thursdays till 10.00pm). Closed on Mondays. Open also in August 15 and 26. Guided tours for groups.

The permanent Modern art collection Spajani-Manzù can be visited: From October to March 9.30am-1.00pm/2.30pm-17.45, From April to September included 10.00am.1.00pm/3.00pm-6.45pm Closed on Mondays. Admission free.

Civic Museum of Archeology - Piazza della Cittadella, 9 ph. +39 (0)35/242839 Fax +39 (0)35/3831889 - e-mail: museoarcheologicobg@libero.it Open:

From October to March, Tuesday to Sunday: 9.00am-12.30am/2.00pm-6.00pm; From April to September, Tuesday to Friday 9.00am-12.30am/2.00pm 6.00pm.

Closed on Mondays.

Admission free.

Notes:

In 1960 the museum was housed on the ground floor of the Cittadella, originally the seat of the Venetian Captain. Today the Museum includes prehistoric collections, Roman, early Christian and Longobard finds, mainly collected in the area of Bergamo.

Civic Natural Science Museum “E. Caffi” - Piazza della Cittadella, 10 info: ph. +39 (0)35/286011 Fax +39 (0)35/233154 e-mail: infomuseoscienze@comune.bg.it - http: www.mcsnbg.it Open:

Notes:

Closed on Mondays. Guided visits for school groups with charge.

March to October 9.00am-12.30am/2.30pm-5.30pm; April to September 9.00am-12.30am/2.30pm-6.00pm.

Saturdays and Sundays 9.00am-7.00pm Admission free.

The Museum measures 1800sm and its exhibition is focused on the morphologic features and reproduction strategies of a wide variety of animals. The section devoted to Palaeontology displays many important deposits gathered in the area of Bergamo.

Among them the most ancient winged reptile: the Eudimorphodon ranzii.

Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art Adriano Bernareggi - Via Pignolo, 76 Ph. +39 (0)35/248772 Fax +39 (0)35/215517 - www.museobernareggi.it e-mail: info@museobernareggi.it Open:

9.30am-12.30am/3.00pm-6.30pm. Closed on Mondays Tickets: full € 3.00; concessions € 1,50 (school groups, guides, soldiers, elderly people over 60, children till 12 years, groups from 12 to 25 people with booking)

Notes:

The Museum is housed in the beautiful palace Bassi Rathgeb.

Pictures, objects and vestments were collected by Archbishop Adriano Bernareggi and enriched by subsequent donations.

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museums • galleries • sightseeing Donizetti Museum - Via Arena, 9 - Ph. +39 (0)35/399269-247116 Open:

From October to May 9.30am-1.00pm; Saturdays and Sundays 9.30am1.00pm/2.00pm-5.30pm From June to September 9.30am-1.00pm/2.00pm-5.30pm Closed on Mondays.

The ticket is valid also for the History Museum

Notes:

The Museum has been housed since 1903 in the palace of Misericordia Maggiore ( an ancient religious foundation) and it is also the seat of the School of Music.

Manuscripts, autographs, letters, documents, theatre and music publications belonging to Gaetano Donizetti are set out in a large hall beautifully decorated.

Matris Domini Monastery Museum - Via Locatelli, 77 - ph. +39 (0)35/3884885 www.matrisdomini.org Open:

Thursdays and Sundays 9.30am-11.30am; Saturday 3.30pm-5.30pm.

Book in advance for visits in different days.

Admission free. Offers are welcome.

History Museum - Piazza Mercato del Fieno, 6/A - at Convento di S. Francesco Ph. +39 (0)35/247116 - Fax +39 (0)35/219128 - www.bergamoestoria.org Open:

Notes:

Closed on Mondays.

From October to May 9.30am-1.00pm/2.00pm-5.30pm.

From June to September 9.30am-1.00pm/2.00pm-5.30pm.

Saturdays and Sundays 9.30am-7.00pm Admission fee: € 3.00; groups € 2.00, free till 18 years This new Museum is the direct development of the existing “Museo del Risorgimento e della Resistenza”; the exhibition is focused not only on the Risorgimento events but also on the economic, social and town planning history.

Interactive displays for explaining the development of the town.

History Museum - 19th Century section - Piazzale Brigata Legnano, 12 Ph. +39 (0)35/247116 Open:

Notes:

Closed on Mondays.

From October to May 9.30am-1.00pm/2.00pm-5.30pm, closed on Mondays From June to September 9.30am-1.00pm/2.00pm-5.30pm, Saturdays and Sundays 9.30am-7.00pm.

Tickets: the entrance-fee is included in the History Museum ticket.

The Rocca is part of a defensive work strongly desired by Giovanni of Luxemburg but finished under the Visconti domination. A round tower was added during the Venitian period. Its bastions are now used as a Memorial Park.

Civic Tower - Piazza Vecchia - ph. +39 (0)35/247116 Open:

Notes:

Closed on Mondays From November to March on demand (5 people or more) Saturdays and Sundays 9.30am-4.30pm.

From April to October 9.30am-7.00pm; Saturdays and Sundays 9.30am-9.30pm Tickets: the same as for the History Museum.

This tower was originally built by a noble family of Bergamo, the Suardi-Colleoni, around the 12th century. In the following centuries it went through several changes.

The big bell on the top strikes 180 strokes every evening at 10.00 o’clock to remind of the ancient curfew.

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Botanic Garden “L. Rota” - Scaletta Colle Aperto Telephone number: +39 (0)35/286060 www.comune.bergamo.it/ortobotanico Open:

Open:

Notes:

from March to October: March: 9.00am-12.00am and 2.00pm-5.00pm October: 9.00am-12.00am and 2.00pm-5.00pm.

Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays: 9.00am-7.00pm. from April to September: 9.00am-12.00am and 2.00pm-6.00pm.

Saturdays and Sundays: 9.00am-7.00pm.

Open also Easter Day, Easter Monday, 25 April, 1 May, 15 and 26 August.

For guided tours contact the Museum of Natural Sciences (telephone number: +39 (0)35/399466) Admission free.

The Botanic Garden contains more than 600 different species spread on 1357 sqm., with a special attention to the most typical of the Lombard region.

Other plants are from the Mediterranean area.

ALMENNO S. BARTOLOMEO

Km. 6,5 from Bergamo

Temple of S. Tomè - Ph. +39 (0)35/640241 (Library) Open:

From October to April: Sundays and holidays: 10.00am-12.00am and 2.00pm-5.00pm May to September: Saturdays 2.30pm-6.00pm Sundays and holidays 10.00am12.00am and 2.30pm-6.00pm For visits in different hours contact the Associazione Amici del Romanico: ph.+39 335/7238605 - +39 340/5281132 or +39 (0)35/548617 Admission free.

Seat of the “Antenna Europea del Romanico” and “Centro Internazionale di Studi” Ph. +39 (0)35/553205

Notes:

The church dates back to the 12th century and has a circular body. Inside, the stairs, built in the thickness of the walls, links the women’s gallery to the ambulatory. The central hall is covered by a dome. In the women’s gallery there are thin and beautifully decorated columns.

The Carpentry Museum by Tino Sana Via Papa Giovanni XXIII, 3 - Ph. +39 (0)35/554411 Open:

Saturdays: 3.00pm-6.00pm Sundays: 09.30am-12.00am and 3.00pm-6.00pm Groups can book visits on demand Tickets: full € 6 - reduced (under 14 years) € 3

Notes:

Work-tools, as well as woodwork machinery are displayed in different rooms together with the carpenter’s shop and the wood-carver shop, wood-turning lathes of the 17th, 18th, 19th century.

Traditional rural works are represented and a special section gathers puppets.

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museums • galleries • sightseeing

ALZANO LOMBARDO

Km. 6,5 from Bergamo

Sacred Art Museum S.Martino and Fantoni’s Sacristies Basilica di S. Martino - Piazza Italia, 8 - Ph. +39 (0)35/516579 info@museosanmartino.org - info@museosanmartino.org Open:

Guided tours on Sundays at 4.00pm.

Holidays 3.00pm-6.00pm. Visits on other days or hours on reservation.

Tickets: (guide included) € 4 each for group, € 5 single.

Notes:

A real masterpiece of allegoric figures full of expression. The Fantoni and Caniana joiner workshops created here wonderful inlaid and carving woodworks.

ARDESIO

Km. 38 from Bergamo

Ethnographic Museum of Alta Valle Seriana (Seriana valley) P.zza del Santuario - Ph. +39 (0)346/33035 - 33232 Open:

From June to September: Weekdays 4.00pm-6.00pm Sundays and holidays 10.00am-12.00am / 4.00pm-6.00pm From October to May: Saturdays 4.00pm-6.00pm Sundays and Holidays 10.00am-12.00am / 4.00pm-6.00pm Closed on Mondays Visits for groups on demand Tickets: € 2 full - € 1 reduced

Notes:

A collection of several tools as evidence of the wool, silk and hemp weaving of the area.

Other items are connected to the mine equipment and to traditional works.

CAMERATA CORNELLO

Km. 33 from Bergamo

Tasso family Museum - Ph. +39 (0)345/43543 (municipality) - Ph. +39 (0)345/43329 (keeper) Visits on booking only.

CAPRIATE S. GERVASIO

Km. 16 from Bergamo

Workers’ Village - Included in UNESCO World Heritage List since 1985 Comune di Capriate S. Gervasio - Ph. +39 (0)2/920991231 Villaggio Crespi Cultural Association - Ph. +39 (0)2/90987191 www.villaggiocrespi.it - E-mail: sede@villaggiocrespi.it Open:

For info, bookings and guided visits contact the Municipality of Capriate or phone to Villaggio Crespi Cultural Association (morning) Guided visits also in English.

Notes:

The village, built on the bank of the river Adda, takes the name from its founder. The family Crespi were cotton manufacturers, coming from Busto Arsizio, another textile area in Lombardy. Crespi d’Adda is the most outstanding example of workers’ village in Italy, both for its perfect preservation and for its urban layout.

43

Fantasy World - Minitalia - Via V. Veneto, 52 - Ph. +39 (0)2/9090169 - 9091341 Fax. +39 (0)2/90.96.34.69 - www.fantasyworld.it Open:

Every day from March to September; closed on Mondays.

In August always open, in the evening too.

From October to February, open on Saturdays and Sundays.

Tickets: March to November €16,50/12,50; other months €7,00/5,00.

Notes:

The park spreads on a 200.000 sm surface including a fun park and a reconstruction of a miniature Italy. Cloakroom and sandwich rooms are available.

CARAVAGGIO

Km. 26 from Bergamo

S. Maria del Fonte Sanctuary - Portici Santuario, 10 - Ph. +39 (0)363/3571 Open:

Summer: Weekdays 6.30am-12.00am 2.00pm-7.00pm Sundays and holidays 6.30am-7.00pm Winter: Weekday 6.30am-12.00am 2.00pm-4.30pm Sundays 6.30am-6.00pm

Notes:

In the 17th and 18th centuries Pellegrino Ribaldi rebuilt the original 15th century building. Many pilgrims still visit the Sanctuary especially on May 26th, anniversary of the apparition. Juvara, Cavenaghi, Meriggia and Cavedoni works of art are inside.

CENE

Km. 17 from Bergamo

Palaentological Park - Via Bellora - Ph. +39 (0)35/751686 or +39 (0)35/729318 Fax +39 (0)35/755185 - www.triassico.it - E-mail info@valleseriana.bg.it Open:

Notes:

In summer (June, July, August and September) open on Saturdays and Sundays 10.00am-1.00pm/2.00pm-6.00pm.

Closed from November to February.

In March, open on Sunday afternoon 2.00pm-6.00pm. In April, May and October open on Saturdays and Sundays afternoon 2.00pm-6.00pm.

Guided visits and didactic laboratories for groups and school students on demand and only in weekdays (25 people each maximum €45 per hour per group) The most important finds of Cene are kept inside the museum, among them several unique fossils. A big paleo-environmental reconstruction of “Bergamo 220 millions of years ago” represents the territory and its inhabitants during the Triassic age.

CLUSONE

Km. 34 from Bergamo

Astronomic Clock of Pietro Fanzago - P.zza dell’Orologio - Ph. +39 (0)346/21113 (Pro Loco) Open:

Free guided tours to the Astronomic clock, Palazzo Comunale (town hall), Oratorio dei Disciplini, Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta in July and August.

(Chiesa del Paradiso on demand only).

On different days the visit costs € 52 each group.

Notes:

The Clock, placed on the south side of Town Hall, is a masterpiece of mechanical art; Pietro Fanzago, who was a mechanical engineer, invented and constructed it in 1583.

Oratory of Disciplini - Disciplini parish Open:

Guided visits on demand.

For information contact Turismo Pro Clusone ph. +39 (0)346/21113

Notes:

Beautiful frescoes dating back to the 15th century placed on the external wall; the most famous represents is the Danza Macabra (Dance of Death).

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museums • galleries • sightseeing

COLZATE

Km. 21 from Bergamo

San Patrizio Sanctuary - Ph. +39 (0)35/711512 (Parish church) Open:

Open: every day from 2.00pm to 5.30 pm and on Sundays during church services.

Open on March 17th “San Patrizio Day”, and the second Sunday of September when the village of Vertova pays its homage to the saint. From the second Sunday after Easter to the second Sunday of September, the sanctuary is open on Sundays from 9.00am to 12.00am.

Notes:

Many pilgrims still visit the sanctuary. Its enchanting location dominates the whole village. The original part of the church dates back to the 14th century, when it was built around an ancient mortuary chapel. The frescoes have been recently restored.

DALMINE località Brembo

Km. 9 from Bergamo

Crib Museum - Via XXV Aprile, 179 - Ph. +39 (0)35/563383 www.museodelpresepio.com - e-mail: info@museodelpresepio.com Open:

From February to November: Sundays and holidays only, from 2.00pm to 6.00pm.

December and January: Weekdays 200pm-5.00pm Sundays 9.00am-12.00am and 2.00pm-7.00pm Visits after hours on demand.

Ticktes: full € 3.50, reduced € 2.50.

Notes:

The Museum spreads on 1200sm, and displays about 800 different cribs and hundreds of figures of every style and dimension. Among them, an interesting example of the 18th century Neapolitan tradition.

GANDINO

Km. 34 from Bergamo

Museo della Basilica - Piazza Emancipazione Ph. +39 (0)35/745425 or +39 (0)35/746115 - Cell. +39 320/1190233 or +39 349/3868675 Open:

The Museum is open on demand; the 1st and the 3rd Sunday of every month (from 3.00pm to 6.00pm) as well as December 26, January 2005 1, January 6, February 20 and 21, March 6,March 27 and 28, April 4, April 17, May 1, 29, June 5 and 19th, July 17, August 7 and 21.

Tickets: full, including the guide and the Crib Museum fee, € 5; reduced, for elderly people and groups also including the guide and Crib Museum, € 3.

Free till 18 years.

Notes:

The Museum gathers many objects belonging to the Basilica and others churches in Gandino. The most interesting collection is formed by liturgical vestments and hangings: they date back to 1500 and are preciously made of silk with golden and silver embroideries.

Crib Museum - Piazza Emancipazione Ph. +39 (0)35/745425 or + 39 (0)35/746115 - Cellphone +39 320/1190233-349/3868675 Open:

Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from December 4 to January 9: 3.00pm-600pm.

Also open December 8, January 1, January 6.

Tickets: € 2.

45

LALLIO

Km. 5 from Bergamo

San Bernardino Church - Piazza Vittorio Veneto, 2 - Ph. +39 (0)35/691078 (Parish) Ph. +39 (0)35/691065 (Town hall) Open:

From April to September: Saturdays, Sundays and holidays 3.30pm-6.00pm.

From October to March: Saturdays, Sundays and holidays 3.00pm-5.00pm.

For visits in different periods contact “Associazione S. Bernardino” ph. 035/200822 or 035/690830. Guided visits every first and third Sunday at 4.00pm in summer and 3.30pm in winter.

Admission free

Notes: This beautiful church dates back to 1450 and it is part of the National Heritage. Inside cycles of frescoes (XVth and XVIth centuries), partly painted by Cristoforo Baschenis, Gerolamo Colleoni and Lorenzo Lotto’s school. A rare example of a completely frescoed church in Lombardy.

LOVERE

Km. 43 from Bergamo

Tadini Academy of Fine Arts - Piazza Garibaldi, 3 - Ph. +39 (0)35/96278 Open:

From April 25th to October 25th weekday s 3.00pm-6.00pm Sundays and holidays 10.00am-12.00am /3.00pm-6.00pm.

Closed on Mondays Entrance fee: full € 5, reduced € 3.

Notes:

The Academy is housed in a neoclassic building overlooking the lake. It was founded in 1828 by Earl Luigi Tadini (1745-1829) and includes the picture- gallery, the Museum and School of Music and Arts.

Basilica di S. Maria Assunta in Valvendra - Via F.lli Pellegrini, 7 Ph. +39 333/2796975 Mr. Belotti Open:

The church is open every day, Monday to Saturday, from 10.00am-12.00am/4.00pm-6.00pm.

Visits after hours and in different periods on demand upon 15 days notice.

Notes:

The church was built between 1473 and 1483; the apse facing the lake and the front with pilasters look out the ancient communication route leading to the Valle Camonica. Inside the church is divided in twelve altars and enriched by frescoes and paintings due to Carpinoni, Barbelli, Cavagna and Moretto.

PONTE NOSSA

Km. 25 from Bergamo

Hammer Museum - Ph. +39 (0)35/704473 - Fax +39 (0)35/704682 (Town hall) E-mail: associazione.magli@tiscali.it Open:

The Museum can be visited on demand; in July and August open in fixed days.

Entrance fee: € 0,52

Notes:

The Museum has a collection of ancient water-mauls used in iron manufacturing: one of them is still working. Inside the museum there also are several tools made by the maul.

PONTIDA

Km. 16 from Bergamo

Benedectine Abbey Museum - Ph. +39 (0)35/795025 Open:

The Monastery can be visited every day 9.00am-12.00am/4.00pm-6.00pm upon notice.

Notes:

The Benedectine monks still live there.

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museums • galleries • sightseeing

ROVETTA

Km. 37 from Bergamo

Fondazione Fantonum de Rascarolo “I Fantoni” - Via Fantoni, 1 - Ph. +39 (0)346/735523 Open:

From July 1st to September 30th 3.30pm-5.30pm.

Groups can visit the Museum after hours on demand.

Closed on Mondays.

Tickets: full € 3.00- reduced and groups € 1.50.

Notes:

The Museum is located in the Fantoni family home, the most famous carvers in Lombardy during 15th century.

Several rooms have been preserved as to give a real atmosphere of every day life in a carver-shop. A large collection of drawings, sketches, and models is also laid out .

SARNICO

Km. 27 from Bergamo

G.Bellini Picture - Gallery - Via S. Paolo, 8 - Ph. +39 (0)35/912165 Opening From June to September Saturdays 9.30am-12.30am/5.00pm-7.00pm/9.00am-11.00pm.

Sundays 10.00am-12.00am /5.00pm-8.00pm; from October to May Saturdays 9.30am-12.30am/3.50pm-7.00pm, Sundays 10.00am-12.00am/3.30pm-7.00pm.

Tickets: full € 3.00 reduced € 1.50 Guided tours for students aged 3 to 13.

S. GIOVANNI BIANCO (fraz. Oneta)

Km. 29 from Bergamo

Arlecchino Home - Ph. +39 (0)345/43262 (Library) Open:

From November to March 10.00am-12.ooam/2.00pm-5.00pm.

From April to October 10.00am-12.00am/3.00pm-6.00pm.

Closed on Mondays. Admission free.

Notes:

The building dates back to 15th century and stood for the controlling of the ancient “Via Mercatorum”. The house belonged to the Grataroli, a powerful and rich family of the valley.

SCHILPARIO

Km. 66 from Bergamo

Ethnographic Museum - Via dei Goi, 6 - Ph. +39 (0)346/55393 Open:

every day 9.00am-12.00am/2.00pm-6.00pm Closed on Mondays. In July and August open on Mondays too.

Guide on demand.

Tickets: full € 2.50 - reduced € 1.50

Notes:

The Museum collects several items, tools, pictures, documents illustrating the life and the traditional activities ofthe local population.

Old Mine Museum Miniera Berbera at Fondi - Località Fondi Open:

Open in July and August (weather permitting) every day 9.00am-6.00pm; during other periods open on Sundays 9.00am-12.00am/1.00pm-5.00pm.

Visits for groups of ten people can be booked in different periods or hours contacting the contacting the Ethnografic Museum Ph. +39 (0)346/55393 or Mr. Capitanio Ph. +39 (0)346/55367 Tickets: € 5.50 adult; groups and children € 4.50

47

Old Mine Museum Miniera Gaffione - (using the mine train) - Ph. +39 (0)346/55393 Open:

On Saturdays and Sundays the whole year 9.30am-12.00am/1.30pm-6.00pm Ticket: full € 6.00; reduced € 5.50; cumulative € 10.00

S. PELLEGRINO TERME

Km. 24 from Bergamo

Municipal Casino - Via B. Villa, 16 - Ph. +39 (0)345/21404 Open: Notes:

Visits on demand only Tickets: full € 1.60 reduced € 1.00

V

The Casino dates back to 1907. It was erected on a design by Romolo Squadrelli and Luigi Mazzocchi. The builiding is a very interesting example of Art Nouveau style. Since the closure, the Casino has been reconverted into a meeting and congress centre.

SOTTO IL MONTE

Km. 14 from Bergamo

Pope John XXIII Museum - Ph. +39 (0)35/792956 - Località Camaitino Open:

Every day 8.30am-11.30am/2.30pm-5.30pm.

In summer open until 6.30pm.

Closed on Mondays.

Admission free but offering is gratefully received.

Notes:

The museum collects several objects that belonged to Pope John XXIII.

Pope John’s home - Missionari del PIME - Via Colombera, 5 Tel. +39 (0)35/791101 Open:

From October to March 8.30am-5.30pm. from April to September 8.30am-6.30pm Admission free but offering is gratefully received.

TRESCORE BALNEARIO

Km. 14 from Bergamo

Cappella di Villa Suardi - Via Suardi, 20 - Ph. +39 (0)35/944777 (Ufficio I.A.T. - Pro Loco) Open:

Guided visits on demand.

Contact local Tourist Office from Tuesday to Saturday 9.00am-12.00am.

Wednesdays 9.00am-12.00am/2.30pm-5.00pm Ticket: single € 6.00 - for groups of 15 people € 6.00; for groups exceeding 15 people (with or without the guide) € 3.00

Notes:

Inside a complete cycle of frescoes by Lorenzo Lotto (15th century) dedicated to St Barbara.

TREVIGLIO

Km. 21 from Bergamo

Basilica di S. Martino e S. Maria Assunta Piazza Manara - Ph. +39 (0)363/49348 - (Parish) Open:

From Monday to Friday 7.30am to 12.00am Saturdays and Sundays 7.30am-12.00am; 3.00pm-6.30pm Admission free.

Notes:

Inside the marvellous polyptych by B. Butinone and B. Zenale (The Virgin with Saints - 1485)

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museums • galleries • sightseeing

URGNANO

Km. 12 from Bergamo

African Village Museum - at Basella - Via G. Peruzzo, 142 Ph. +39 (0)35/894670 - Fax +39 (0)35/894819 - www.museoafricano.it Open: Notes:

Closed on Saturdays. School and group visits after hours are allowed on demand.

From Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00; Sundays 2.00pm to 6.00pm Tickets: full € 5.00, reduced € 2.50 (3 years to 14).

The Museum has two exposition halls for temporary exhibitions and for the permanent collection of African art.

VALBREMBO

Km. 7 from Bergamo

Faunistic Park «Le Cornelle» - Via Cornelle, 16 Ph. +39 (0)35/527422-527640 - Fax +39 (0)35/528285 Open:

From October to March every day from 9.00am to 5.00pm From April to September open from 9.00am to 7.00pm Tickets: full € 9.00 - reduced € 6.00.

Notes:

The park spreads on a large and green area hosting wild animals.

An original habitat allows visitors to observe the animals at their best.

ZOGNO

Km. 18 from Bergamo

Vicariate Museum - Parrocchia di Zogno - Chiesa di San Lorenzo - ph. +39 (0)345/91083 Open:

Thursdays and Saturdays 3.00pm - 6.00pm on demand.

Admission free

Notes:

The Museums collects items of the local devoutness.

Fuipiano Imagna, the hamlet of Arnosto

49

CASTLES AND FORTRESSES

BERGAMO The Fortress The Rocca is a part of a stronghold, which had been built during the government of John of Luxemburg and was finished under the Visconti family dominion; then under the Venetian rule a new cylindrical tower was added. Its bastions are now used as a memorial park.

Info at Historic Museum +39 (0)35/247116.

Closed on Monday.

Open from October to May: 9.30am - 1.00pm / 2.00pm - 5.30pm From June to September: 9.30am - 1.00pm / 2.00 - 5.30pm Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays 9.30am - 7.00pm

San Vigilio Castle Ruins of the old fortress that dominated the whole town. Beautiful landscape from the park situated on its bastions.

Open from April to September 9.00am - 8.00pm October and March 10.00am - 6.00pm From November to February 10.00am - 4.00pm

BIANZANO

Km. 26 from Bergamo

Castello dei Suardi It is a private property (contact Mr.Faglia Ph. +39 (0)39/380374 or Mrs. M.Suardi +39 (0)35/814086) Guided visits in July and August on Thursdays and Saturdays 5.30pm - 6.30pm.

Open the whole year for schools only calling +39 (0)35/814086.

For other groups visits on demand.

Ticket: full € 3.00 reduced € 2.00.

BRIGNANO GERA D’ADDA

Km. 25 from Bergamo

Palazzo Visconti Citterio Known since the 12th century and transformed into private residence during the 18th century, this palace is a very interesting example of noble villa. The first floor is decorated by many beautiful frescoes. The public part can be visited on application to be addressed to the Mayor of Brignano Gera D’Adda; Ph. +39 (0)363/815011 - e-mail info@comune.brignano.bg.it.

CASTELLI CALEPIO

Km. 20 from Bergamo

The castle is a private residence and it can be visited every Sunday from March to October from 3.00pm to 6.00pm; the ticket includes the guide (€ 3.00 or € 1.50).

During other periods, the visits are on demand, (contact Mr. Ugo Belotti Ph. +39 (0)35/847395, or Mr Zerbini +39 (0)35/847006).

CAVERNAGO MALPAGA

Km. 15 from Bergamo

Castello di Malpaga This is a good example of a Renaissance residence; it can be visited on Sundays or other public holidays from 2.30pm to 6.30pm (December and January excluded). Visits during the week on demand phone +39 (0)35/840003(20 people minimum).

Tickets including the guide: full € 5.00; reduced € 2.50 (children 6 to 12 years).

50

castles and fortresses

COSTA MEZZATE

Km. 15 from Bergamo

Castello Camozzi Vertova The Castle is a private residence and it can be visited in fixed periods: during the summer in July, in autumn from September 10 to October 15. Visits are allowed only on demand (better to have own guide) and giving previously the list of participants.

Groups exceeding 20 people are not allowed.

Tickets € 5 each, with guide included € 7.

Tickets including coffee or aperitifs € 10, with guide € 12.

GROMO

Km. 41 from Bergamo

Palazzo Ginami This castle was built by the Ginami family and dates back to Middle Age. It has been restored during the 20th century and it is now converted into a restaurant.

Visits are free and are limited to few rooms, on demand phone Ristorante Posta Castello +39 (0)346/41002; the restaurant is closed on Mondays, always open during the summer and Christmas period.

GRUMELLO DEL MONTE

Km. 41 from Bergamo

The Castle is a private property and is a part of a wine farm called Azienda Vitivinicola Tenuta Castello. The Castle is open every Sunday from April to October from 3.00pm to 6.00. During other periods, visits are allowed on demand, as well as visits to the castle and winery with tasting.

Ticket with testing 2 wines € 7.50 Ticket with testing 3 wines + typical cheese € 10.00 Ph. +39 (0)35/4420817 - +39 348/3036243 E-mail: info@castellodigrumello.it - www.castellodigrumello.it

ROMANO DI LOMBARDIA

Km. 25 from Bergamo

The Fortress The Visconti family fortified this existing castle during its domination on the region. It was under the Venetian and the Sforza rule and then was owned by Bartolomeo Colleoni. Now it houses the local library. It can be visited during the whole year the phone +39 (0)363/901875 (Mr. Sergio Cometti).

Groups need a reservation.

Admission free.

For further information during the weekend contact Punto Informazioni Turistico Culturali - Via Colleoni Ph. +39 (0)363/902390 Saturdays 10am -12am, 4pm-6pm; Sundays 10am-12am.

URGNANO

Km. 12 from Bergamo

The Castle Also known as Rocca of Visconti, the building dates back to the 14th century when a castle was erected deriving from precedent ruins. It was transformed into a sumptuous country residence, with a square plan and two entrance towers, surrounded by a moat and with high walls. The rooms conserve 16th century frescoes with goddesses.

Visits to the castle are allowed upon application Ph. +39 (0)35/898250.

Ticket € 3.00 each, for groups exceeding three people € 2.00 each.

Schools € 0.52 each.

51

SPA RESORTS S. PELLEGRINO TERME

alt. m. 354

San Pellegrino Terme is a spa resort located in the Brembana Valley, 24 km away from Bergamo.

Spa water cure establishment: sulphate-bicarbonate-alkaline waters.

Treatments available: hydropinic treatments, inhalations, irrigations, baths, mud-baths. This water is useful to treat kidney diseases, as well as those which afflict the digestive tract, the liver and breathing organs.

Opening period The spa establishment is approximately open from May to September.

Contact: Terme di San Pellegrino, Via Taramelli, 2 - 24016 San Pellegrino Terme Bergamo - Telephone number: +39 (0)345/22455 - Fax number: +39 (0)345/23497 E-mail: terme.sanpellegrino@sanpellegrino.it

TRESCORE BALNEARIO

alt. m. 271

Trescore Balneario is a spa resort located in the Cavallina Valley, 14 km away from Bergamo.

Spa water cure establishment: sulphate-chlorinated-sodic waters.

Treatments available: The water is used for inhalations, in order to treat diseases which afflict breathing organs, and for mud-baths, to treat rheumatism and arthrosis.

Opening period: The spa establishment is open the whole year round, except for a month closure from the middle of December to the middle of January.

Contact: Terme di Trescore - Via Gramsci - 24069 Trescore Balneario - Bergamo Telephone number: +39 (0)35/4255511 - Fax number: +39 (0)35/941050 Web site: www.termeditrescore.it - E-mail: info@termeditrescore.it

GAVERINA TERME

alt. m. 511

Gaverina Terme is a spa resort located in the Cavallina Valley, 26 km away from Bergamo.

Spa water cure establishment: sulphate-bicarbonate-alkaline waters.

Treatments available: the water is useful to treat gastroenteric diseases, as well as kidney troubles and chronic bronchitis.

The spa establishment is closed.

Contact: Fonti Gaverina Via Fonti - 24060 Gaverina Terme - Bergamo Telephone number: +39 (0)35/810110 - Fax number: +39 (0)35/811443

S. OMOBONO IMAGNA

alt. m. 462

S. Omobono Terme is a spa resort located in the Imagna Valley, 23 km away from Bergamo.

Spa water cure establishment: sulphureous waters.

Treatments available : The water is useful for inhalations and irrigations, as well as to treat diseases which afflict the digestive system, the liver and breathing organs.

Opening period The spa establishment is open the whole year round, except for: - From 8 to 26 December - From 10 January to 10 February Contact: Terme di S. Omobono - Via Alle Fonti, 117 - 24038 S. Omobono Terme Bergamo - Telephone number: +39 (0)35/851114 - Fax number: +39 (0)35/851148

52

CASTIONE DELLA PRESOLANA

m. 1200/2140

Loc. Cantoniera e M. Pora

CLUSONE COLERE

m. 1020/2200

COSTA IMAGNA

m. 1000/1400

CUSIO

m. 1650/1800

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m. 1500/2000

con Carona e S. Simone

GANDINO

m. 552

Loc. Montagnina

GROMO

m. 1200/2100

Loc. Spiazzi

OLTRE IL COLLE e SERINA ONORE PIAZZATORRE

m. 1100/2000 m. 750 m. 900/1900

Loc. dotata di Palazzo del ghiaccio

RONCOBELLO

m. 1000

SCHILPARIO

m. 1134/1800

SELVINO

m. 1000/1400

Loc. Monte Poieto

VALBONDIONE

m. 1250/1930

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VALLEVE Loc. San Simone m. 1650/2200 Comprensorio Brembo Ski con Carona e Foppolo

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COLLI SAN FERMO

m. 1350/1993 m. 1.300

Comune di Grone

ZAMBLA ALTA Comune di Oltre il Colle

m. 1.250

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Loc. Lizzola

VALTORTA PIANI DI BOBBIO

SNOW BOARD SLOPES

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Loc. Monte Avaro

FOPPOLO Comprensorio Brembo Ski

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m. 650/1150

SKI Area 2200

DOWNHILL SKI SCHOOL

m. 1100/2140

con Foppolo e S. Simone

SKI TOURING SCHOOL

CARONA Comprensorio Brembo Ski

m. 900

SKI TOURING

BRANZI

CROSS COUNTRY SKIING

RESTAURANTS/ CATERING

SKIING RESORTS

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53

TOURIST OFFICES AND ADDRESSES

BERGAMO

UFFICIO I.A.T. - CITTÀ BASSA Viale V. Emanuele, 20 - 24121 Bergamo Tel. +39 (0)35/210204-213185 - Fax +39 (0)35/230184 www.provincia.bergamo.it e-mail: aptbg@apt.bergamo.it

BERGAMO

UFFICIO I.A.T. - CITTÀ ALTA Vicolo Aquila Nera, 2 - 24129 Bergamo Tel. +39 (0)35/232730-242226 - Fax +39 (0)35/242994 e-mail: iat.bergamo@apt.bergamo.it

ALMENNO S. BARTOLOMEO

UFFICIO A DENOMINAZIONE I.A.T. PRO LOCO Via Papa Giovanni XXIII - 24030 Almenno S. Bartolomeo Tel./Fax +39 (0)35/548634 - e.mail: iatvalleimagna@virgilio.it

LOVERE

UFFICIO TURISTICO Piazza XIII Martiri - 24065 Lovere Tel. +39 (0)35/962178 - Fax +39 (0)35/962525 e-mail: turismo.lovere@apt.bergamo.it

MARTINENGO

UFFICIO A DENOMINAZIONE I.A.T. PRO LOCO Via Tadino - 24057 Martinengo Tel. +39 (0)363/986006-987771 - Fax +39 (0)363/987765 e-mail: info@comune.martinengo.bg.it

S.PELLEGRINO TERME

UFFICIO I.A.T. - VALLE BREMBANA Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII, 18 - 24016 San Pellegrino Terme Tel./Fax +39 (0)345/23344 - e-mail: iat.vallebrembana@apt.bergamo.it

SARNICO

UFFICIO A DENOMINAZIONE I.A.T. PRO LOCO Via Lantieri, 6 - 24067 Sarnico Tel. +39 (0)35/910900 - Fax +39 (0)35/4261334 e-mail: proloco.sarnico@tiscali.it

SELVINO

UFFICIO I.A.T. DELL’ALTOPIANO DI SELVINO - AVIATICO Corso Milano, 19 - 24020 Selvino Tel. +39 (0)35/763362 - Fax +39 (0)35/761707 e-mail: iat.selvino@apt.bergamo.it

SOTTO IL MONTE GIOVANNI XXIII

UFFICIO A DENOMINAZIONE I.A.T. PRO LOCO Via IV Novembre, 1 - 24039 Sotto il Monte Tel./Fax +39 (0)35/790902 e-mail: info@prolocosottoilmonte.it

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TRESCORE BALNEARIO

UFFICIO A DENOMINAZIONE I.A.T. PRO LOCO Via Suardi, 20 - 24069 Trescore Balneario Tel./Fax +39 (0)35/944777 - e-mail: iat.trescore@tin.it

TREVIGLIO

UFFICIO A DENOMINAZIONE I.A.T. PRO LOCO Via F.lli Galliari, 6 - 24047 Treviglio Tel. +39 (0)363/45466 - Fax +39 (0)363/595559 e-mail: info@prolocotreviglio.it

TOURIST GUIDE ASSOCIATIONS BERGAMO

GRUPPO GUIDE CITTĂ€ DI BERGAMO Presidenza Tel. +39 (0)35/249553 - Tel. e Fax +39 (0)35/344205 www.bergamoguide.it e-mail: info@bergamoguide.it

BERGAMO

GUIDE A.G.I.A.T. Tel. +39 (0)35/262565-252021 - Fax +39 (0)35/262566 e-mail: guideagiat@excite.it

REGIONE LOMBARDIA Direzione Generale Industria Piccola e Media Impresa - Cooperazione Turismo Via Taramelli, 20 - Milano Tel. +39 (0)2/67656296 - Fax +39 (0)2/6765-6255 PROVINCIA DI BERGAMO Servizio Turismo Via Borgo S. Caterina, 19 - Bergamo Tel. +39 (0)35/387621-622 - Fax +39 (0)35/387606 www.provincia.bergamo.it e-mail: segreteria.turismo@provincia.bergamo.it AGENZIA PER LO SVILUPPO E LA PROMOZIONE TURISTICA DELLA PROVINCIA DI BERGAMO Via Torquato Tasso, 8 - 24121 Bergamo Sede operativa: Via Milazzo, 12 - 24124 Bergamo Tel +39 (0)35/230640 - Fax +39 (0)35/230960 www.turismo.bergamo.it - e-mail: info@turismo.bergamo.it UFFICIO AEROPORTO ORIO AL SERIO Via Aeroporto,13 - 24050 Orio al Serio (Bg) Tel. +39 (0)35/320402 - Fax +39 (0)35/312369 www.turismo.bergamo.it - e-mail: orio@turismo.bergamo.it

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Cartografia del Touring Club Italiano. Autorizzazione del 6 ottobre 2004.

Fraggio in Val Taleggio

INDICE

The Territory Nature, landscape and the environment............................3 Sport and health ..............................................................................................8

Art and Culture Masterpieces to be visited ...............................................................14 Sanctuaries, monasteries and abbeys ...............................20

The signs of man Industrial archaeology itineraries ...........................................26 Walls, castles and medieval villages ....................................32

Tourist Information Museums, Galleries, Sightseeing ..............................................38 Castles and Fortresses ..........................................................................50 Spa Resorts .........................................................................................................52 Skiing Resorts...................................................................................................53 Tourist offices and addresses ......................................................58

Lovere, Accademia Tadini, Lorenzo Veneziano, Vergin of Humility

Texts Touring Club Italiano, from “La Provincia di Bergamo - carta 1:175.000 e guida turistica”, Touring Editore, 2000 Photographs Circolo Fotografico Marianese (Dalmine) Tourist Information Ufficio I.A.T. del territorio Editorial Manager Sandro Ghezzi Editorial Assistants Roberto Belotti, Liliana Moretti, Rosalisa Paris, Giuseppe Zambaiti Layout and Art Director Videocomp, Bergamo Print Litostampa Istituto Grafico, Bergamo © Provincia di Bergamo - 2005 Covers: Lake Iseo Bergamo, S. Maria Maggiore e Duomo Bergamo, Piazza Vecchia Photographs by Tino Rovetta

Fuipiano Imagna, the three beeches

PROVINCIA

DI

BERGAMO

Culture & Tourism Via Borgo S. Caterina, 19 - 24124 Bergamo Tel. 035 387604/621 - Fax 035 387606 www.provincia.bergamo.it segreteria.turismo@provincia.bergamo.it