Bergamo

Bergamo (Bèrghem in Lombard) is a town in Lombardy, Italy, about 40km northeast of Milan. The commune is home to c. 117,000 inhabitants. It is served by Orio al Serio International Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent Milan. The foothills of the Alps begin immediately north of the town.

History

Bergamo occupies the site of the ancient town of Bergomum, founded as a settlement of the Celtic tribe of Cenomani. In 49 BC it became a Roman municipality, containing c. 10,000 inhabitants at its peak. An important hub on the military road between Friuli and Raetia, it was destroyed by Attila in the 5th century.

From the 6th century Bergamo was the seat of one of the most important Lombard duchies of northern Italy, together with Brescia, Trento and Cividale del Friuli: its first Lombard duke was Wallaris. After the conquest by Charlemagne of the Lombard Kingdom, it became the seat of a county under one Auteramus (died 816).

From the 11th century onwards Bergamo was an independent commune, taking part in the Lombard League which defeated Frederick I Barbarossa in 1165. Caught in the bitter fights between Guelphs and Ghibellines, led in the city by the Colleoni and the Suardi respectively, from 1264 Bergamo was intermittently under the rule of Milan. In 1331 it gave itself to John of Bohemia, but later the Visconti of Milan reconquered it. After a short conquest by the Malatesta in 1407, in 1428 it fell under the control of the Venetian, remaining part of it until 1797. Notably, the Venetians fortified the higher portion of the town (see Main sights section).

In 1815 it was assigned to Austria. Giuseppe Garibaldi freed it 1859, and thenceforth Bergamo was part of the Kingdom of Italy.

Bergamo is the traditional birthplace of Arlecchino and Brighella, two popular characters of the commedia dell'arte,

Bergamo has a prominent place in music history. The large Romanesque church of Santa Maria Maggiore, begun in 1137, had a continuous and well-documented tradition of music teaching and singing for more than eight hundred years. Since the town was under Venetian control, the musical style of the Venetians was imported as well; in particular, a large instrumental ensemble grew up to support the choral singing. Composers such as Gasparo Alberti produced music with polyphony using two organs, brass and viols, a style usually associated with Venice, but which flourished in the fine acoustic environment of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Prominent musicians born in Bergamo include Gaetano Donizetti, Pietro Locatelli, Antonio Lolli, Gianluigi Trovesi, and Elio Picchetti. Alessandro Grandi, one of the most progressive composers of the early 17th century after Monteverdi, was maestro di cappella there until his death in the plague of 1630; Tarquinio Merula, an even more progressive composer, and one of the founders of the early sonata, took over his post.

Elio Picchetti is a distinguished engineer who is involved in the development of GPS based aircraft landing systems. While sailing his boat around the world he spends his days playing the guitar and philosophising.

A famous musician who lived in Bergamo was maestro Gianandrea Gavazzeni.

Bergamo was the hometown and last resting place of Enrico Rastelli, a highly technical and world famous juggler who lived in the town and, in 1931, died there at the early age of 34. There is a life-sized statue to Rastelli within his mausoleum.

Main sights

The town has two centres: "Città alta" (upper city), a hilltop medieval town, surrounded by 17th century cyclopic defensive walls, and the "Città bassa" (lower city). The two parts of the town are connected by funicular/cable car, roads and foot-paths (the most convenient being immediately adjacent the funicular station). Parking spaces are very limited in the upper city and non-local traffic is banned on weekends.

Città alta

The upper city, surrounded by Venetian walls built in the 17th century, forms the historic centre of Bergamo.

It includes numerous historical monuments:

• Piazza Vecchia (old square)
• Palazzo della Ragione. It was the seat of the administration of the city in the communal age. It is now the site of exhibitions. Erected in the 12th century, it was rebuilt in the late 16th century by Pietro Isabello. The façade has the lion of St. Mark over a mullioned window, testifying to the long period of Venetian dominance. The atrium has a well-preserved 18th century sundial.
• Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major). It was built from 1137 on the site of a previous religious edifice of the 7th century. Construction lasted until the 15th century. Of this first building remains the external Romanesque structure and the Greek cross plan, while the interior was widely modified in the 16th and 17th centuries. Noteworthy are the great Crucifix and the tomb of Gaetano Donizetti. The dome has frescoes by Giovanbattista Tiepolo.
• Cappella Colleoni (Colleoni chapel), annexed to Santa Maria Maggiore, a masterwork of Renaissance architecture and decorative art.
• The Rocca (Castle). It was begun in 1331 on hill of the Sant'Eufemia by William of Castelbarco, vicar of John of Bohemia, and later completed by Azzone Visconti. A wider citadel was also added, but it is now partly lost. The Venetians built a large tower in the Rocca, as well as a line of walls (Mura Veneziane) 6,200 metres long.
• Palazzo della Ragione and the nearby Biblioteca Angelo Mai (Palazzo Nuovo), designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi.

The città alta is also home to two museums, the Museo Civico Archeologico (Archaeological Civic Museum) and the Museo di Scienze Naturali Enrico Caffi (Caffi Natural Science Museum).

Città bassa

The lower city, having expanded rapidly during the 20th century, is the modern centre of Bergamo.

Of artistic importance are the Pinacoteca dell'Accademia Carrara (picture museum of Carrara academy), known as "Accademia Carrara" and the nearby Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (gallery of modern and contemporary art), known as GAMEC. The lower part of the city is divided into several distinct boroughs: Colognola, Valtesse, Redona, Borgo Palazzo, Celadina, Campagnola, Boccaleone, Longuelo.

Trivia/Miscellaneous

Angelo Roncalli later to become Pope John XXIII ( Oct 28, 1958 - June 3,1963) was born in the Bergamo province Sotto Il Monte on November 25, 1881. The young Roncalli studied in the diocesan minor seminary of Bergamo.

• The city is home to Costantino Rocca, the only Italian golfer to play in the Ryder Cup.
• The town hosted the seventh Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne in 1951.
• The town has a Serie A football team called Atalanta.
• For about 55 years, from 1945 to 2000, the town was the site of the headquarters of the Mechanized Infantry Brigade "Legnano"
• Every year the town used to host an important poetry event called "BergamoPoesia"
• The town has a woman's volleyball team named Foppapedretti Bergamo.

Gallery

Sister cities

• Template:Country data United States Greenville, United States
• Template:Country data United States Pueblo, United States

External links

• Bergamo official website (italian)
• Turismo Bergamo
• Bergamo Tour
• Università degli Studi di Bergamo website (english)
• Paradoxplace Bergamo Photo Pages
• ItalianVisits.com
• Bergamo guide

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