© Wikimedia
© Wikimedia
© Wikimedia
© Wikimedia
Bergamo
A historically rich medieval city, once a part of Venice
The city of Bergamo is perched atop a hill just within a 30-40 minute train or car ride from Milan. The fourth largest city in Lombardy, it is located at the foot of the Alps.
Bergamo is the second most visited city in the region after Milan thanks to its rich history, beautiful landscapes, delicious cuisine and easy connections. Just 30 minutes from Milan, Bergamo has its own international airport ten minutes away. The city is at the foothills of the Orobie Alps, popular with Italian skiers given their proximity to Milan.
For 400 years, from the early 15th century, Bergamo was a part of the Republic of Venice. The Venetians built a stone wall around the Citta Alta perched on a hill above the rest of town. Piazza Vecchia, in the heart of the Citta Alta, is a great starting point for exploring Bergamo, branching off into a network of narrow and distinctly medieval, winding cobblestone streets.
The modern Citta Bassa (Lower City) is not without its charms, boasting a good collection of parks, galleries, museums and fashion boutiques and general 19th-century chic.
History & Culture in [locality]
The remote origins of the city of Bergamo can be perceived in its own name, probably a combination of the Germanic words Berg (mountain) and heim (house). Bergamo's hilltop location has always been a defensive advantage, meaning that it has been occupied for centuries.
The first settlement we have remains of was a Celtic village that succumbed to the Romans in the year 49 BC. They enlarged the town, now called Bergomum, which had around 10,000 inhabitants under Roman rule, but it was raided by Attila in the 5th century.
In the early Middle Ages, Bergamo was the seat of one of the most important Lombard duchies in northern Italy. In the 9th century, it was conquered by Charlemagne who turned it into a county and, in the 11th century, it became an independent commune that took part in the Lombard League, fighting to defend the Kingdom of Italy against the threat of the Holy Roman Empire dominated by the Hohenstaufen dinasty. From 1264, Bergamo was under the rule of Milan and the Visconti family, who fortified the citadel.
However, in the early 15th centuries, Bergamo fell under the control of the Venetian Republic until the late 18th century, becoming the westernmost outpost of this territory. The Venetians fortified the town to counteract possible attacks from other regions of Italy.
Napoleonic rule was imposed on Bergamo in 1797 while in 1815 it was assigned to the Austrian Empire. Under Austrian government, the town's industrial development began with the installation if the first textile factories. The city played a vital role during the Italian unification or 'Resorgimento'. It was called the 'Città dei Mille' in honour of 'I Mille', the most important voluntary contingent in Garibaldi's army, because around a sixth of them came from the city. Garibaldi liberated Bergamo in 1859 becoming part of the Kingdom of Italy and, after, the Italian Republic.
