As our plane departed from Bergamo, outside of Milan, we spent one night in the Medieval city of Bergamo, and toured the city during our last day in Italy. There’s a lot to see and eat in beautiful, mountainous Bergamo.
Its name, Bergamo, means a mountain (Berg) with a house on top (heim). Located outside of the Alps, the city was once a Celtic settlement, then a Roman Municipality when the Romans showed up in 49 B.C. Considered a natural strategic stronghold, Bergamo became the westernmost outpost of the Republic of Venice. During the Risorgimento, a political and social movement leading to the consolidation of the states of the Italian peninsula in the 19th century, Bergamo joined the Kingdom of Italy and then the Italian Republic.
The lower city is the more contemporary of this dual city, whereas the “città alta” or upper city, is the historic center. Here you can walk among the Venetian walls, visit the squares and shops, see the cathedral, and ride the really fun funicular to get there!
Christmas Markets
We were greeted with multiple Christmas markets during our visit, and had a great time sampling local nougat, cheeses, and sausage.
The Funicular
The Bergamo Funicular is over 100 years old and takes you up a steep 52% slope connecting lower and upper Bergamo . We took it from the lower level and up to the old town in Città Alta. The ride is short and fun, and makes the steep ascent simpler.
The Bergamo Cathedral & Colleoni Chapel
The Cattedrale di Bergamo (Bergamo Cathedral) and the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (Colleoni Chapel) are right beside each other. We ducked into each of them, and they were worth the visit. They hold a lot of gold and some lovely tapestries and frescoes.
Local Specialties
Stracciatella gelato was invented in 1962 in Bergamo by Enrico Panattoni. The recipe consists of milk, cream, and sugar, with chocolate bits swirled in. Panattoni was supposedly inspired by straticella soup, which is made by cracking eggs into a broth.
Polenta and Osei is a typical dessert of Bergamo. This dessert is polenta based, and also prepared with sponge cake and chocolate, butter, and hazelnut creams, and also rum. The marzipan and chocolate birds are placed over the polenta. If you click the link, you get a recipe!
A Morning Run into the Sunrise
I had one morning for a run n Bergamo, so I decided to make the most of it. Our Airbnb was in the lower end of the city, and I laced up my shoes to began the ascent to the upper city. The run was a bit slow and chilly, but an excellent way to start the day, and the sunrise, of course, was worth it.
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