Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto-
Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the
alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, and about from Switzerland, the
alpine lakes
Como
Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como.
Its proximity to Lake Como and ...
and
Iseo Iseo may refer to:
Acronyms
* International Sustainable Energy Organization (ISEO)
Places Italy
* Iseo, Lombardy, a ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia
* Lake Iseo, a lake in the Provinces of Bergamo and Brescia, Lombardy
* Provaglio d'Iseo, ...
and 70 km (43 mi) from
Garda and
Maggiore Maggiore means "major" or "large" in Italian. It can refer to:
Locations and places
* Lake Maggiore, located at northwestern Italy and southern Switzerland
* Isola Maggiore, the second largest island on Lake Trasimeno, Umbria, Italy
* Fontana Maggi ...
. The
Bergamo Alps
The Bergamasque Alps or Bergamo Alps (Italian language, Italian: ''Alpi Orobie'', sometimes translated into English as Orobic Alps) are a mountain range in the Italy, Italian Alps. They are located in northern Lombardy and named after the city Be ...
(''Alpi Orobie'') begin immediately north of the city.
With a population of around 120,000, Bergamo is the fourth-largest city in Lombardy. Bergamo is the seat of the
Province of Bergamo
The Province of Bergamo ( it, provincia di Bergamo; lmo, proìnsa de Bèrghem) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. It has a population of 1,112,187 (2017), an area of , and contains 243 ''comuni''. Its capital is the city of Bergamo.
...
, which counts over 1,103,000 residents (2020).
The
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
of Bergamo extends beyond the administrative city limits, spanning over a densely urbanized area with slightly less than 500,000 inhabitants.
The Bergamo metropolitan area is itself part of the broader
Milan metropolitan area, home to over 8 million people.
The city of Bergamo is composed of an old walled core, known as ''Città Alta'' ("Upper Town"), nestled within a
system of hills, and the modern expansion in the plains below. The upper town is encircled by massive
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
defensive systems that are a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
since 9 July 2017.
Bergamo is well connected to several cities in Italy, thanks to the
motorway A4 stretching on the axis between
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
, and
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
. The city is served by
Il Caravaggio International Airport, the third-busiest airport in Italy with 12.3 million passengers in 2017. Bergamo is the second most visited city in Lombardy after Milan.
History
Antiquity
Bergamo occupies the site of the ancient town of ''Bergomum'', founded as a settlement of the
Celtic tribe of
Cenomani. In 49 BCE it became a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
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
Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...
in the 5th century.
Middle Ages
From the 6th century Bergamo was the seat of one of the most important
Lombard duchies of
northern Italy
Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
, together with
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...
,
Trento
Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...
, and
Cividale del Friuli: its first
Lombard duke was
Wallaris.
After the conquest of the Lombard Kingdom by
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
, it became the seat of a county under one
Auteramus (d. 816). An important Lombardic
hoard
A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...
dating from the 6th to 7th centuries was found in the vicinity of the city in the 19th century and is now in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
From the 11th century onwards, Bergamo was an independent
commune, taking part in the
Lombard League which defeated
Frederick I Barbarossa in 1165. The local
Guelph and Ghibelline
The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy.
During the 12th and 13th centuries, rivalr ...
factions were the
Colleoni and
Suardi
Suardi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 km southwest of Milan and about 35 km southwest of Pavia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 692 and an area of ...
, respectively.
Feuding between the two initially caused the family of
Omodeo Tasso Omodeo Tasso or Omodeo de Tassis (XIII Century – 1290) was the late-13th century Italian patriarch of the Thurn und Taxis dynasty generally credited with initiating the first modern postal service as the administrators first of the Imperial Post ...
to flee north , but he returned to Bergamo in the later 13th century to organize the city's couriers: this would eventually lead to the
Imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
Thurn und Taxis
The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (german: link=no, Fürstenhaus Thurn und Taxis ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the ''Briefadel''. It was a key player in the postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end ...
dynasty generally credited with organizing the
first modern postal service.
Early modern
After a short period under the
House of Malatesta starting from 1407, Bergamo was ceded in 1428 by the
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...
to the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
in the context of the
Wars in Lombardy and the aftermath of the 1427
Battle of Maclodio
The Battle of Maclodio was fought on 11 October 1427, resulting in a victory for the Venetians under Carmagnola over the Milanese under Carlo I Malatesta. The battle was fought at Maclodio (or Macalo), a small town near the River Oglio, fifteen ...
.
Despite the brief interlude granted by the
Treaty of Lodi in 1454, the uneasy
balance of power among the Northern Italian states precipitated the
Italian Wars
The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...
, a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, also the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
.
The wars, which were both a result and cause of Venetian involvement in the power politics of mainland Italy, prompted Venice to assert its direct rule over its
mainland domains.
As much of the fighting during the Italian Wars took place during sieges, increasing levels of fortification were adopted, using such new developments as detached bastions that could withstand sustained artillery fire.
The
Treaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The treat ...
(17 October 1797) formally recognized the inclusion of Bergamo and other parts of Northern Italy into the
Cisalpine Republic, a
"sister republic" of the
French First Republic
In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...
that was superseded in 1802 by the short-lived
Napoleonic Italian Republic and in 1805 by the
Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy (1805–1814; it, Regno d'Italia; french: Royaume d'Italie) was a kingdom in Northern Italy (formerly the Italian Republic) in personal union with Napoleon I's French Empire. It was fully influenced by revolutionary Franc ...
.
Late modern and contemporary
At the 1815
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
, Bergamo was assigned to the
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, a
crown land
Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...
of the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
. The visit of
Ferdinand I in 1838 coincided with the opening of the new boulevard stretching into the plains, leading to the railway station that was inaugurated in 1857. Austrian rule was at first welcomed, but later challenged by
Italian independentist insurrections in 1848.
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...
conquered Bergamo in 1859, during the
Second Italian War of Independence. As a result, the city was incorporated into the newly founded
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
.
For its contribution to the
Italian unification
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
movement, Bergamo is also known as ''Città dei Mille'' ("City of the Thousand"), because a significant part of the rank-and-file supporting Giuseppe Garibaldi in his expedition against the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...
came from Bergamo and its environs.
![Cloudy day in Bergamo, view from Airport parking - panoramio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Cloudy_day_in_Bergamo%2C_view_from_Airport_parking_-_panoramio.jpg)
During the twentieth century, Bergamo became one of Italy's most industrialized areas.
In 1907,
Marcello Piacentini devised a new
urban master plan that was implemented between 1912 and 1927, in a style reminiscent of
Novecento Italiano
Novecento Italiano () was an Italian artistic movement founded in Milan in 1922 to create an art based on the rhetoric of the fascism of Benito Mussolini, Mussolini.
History
Novecento Italiano was founded by Anselmo Bucci (1887–1955), Leonardo ...
and
Modernist Rationalism.
The 2017
43rd G7 summit
The 43rd G7 summit was held on 26–27 May 2017 in Taormina ( ME), Sicily, Italy. In March 2014, the G7 declared that a meaningful discussion was currently not possible with Russia in the context of the G8. Since then, meetings have continued w ...
on agriculture was held in Bergamo, in the context of the broader international meeting organized in
Taormina
Taormina ( , , also , ; scn, Taurmina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on ...
.
The "Charter of Bergamo" is an international commitment, signed during the summit, to reduce hunger worldwide by 2030, strengthen cooperation for agricultural development in Africa, and ensure price transparency.
In early 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, Bergamo's healthcare system was overwhelmed by patients with
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. There were reports of doctors confronted with ethical dilemmas with too few ICU beds and mechanical ventilation systems. Morgues were overwhelmed, and images of military trucks carrying the bodies of COVID-19 victims out of the city were shared worldwide.
Doctors pleaded with the rest of Italy, Europe, and the world to take the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
seriously. An
investigative report by ''The New York Times'' found that faulty guidance and bureaucratic delays rendered the toll far worse than it had to be.
Geography
Climate
Cityscape
![Legenda MuraVeneteBG](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Legenda_MuraVeneteBG.svg)
The town has two centres: ''Città alta'' ("upper city"), a hilltop medieval town, surrounded by 16th-century defensive walls, and the ''Città bassa'' ("lower city"). The two parts of the town are connected by
funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
, roads, and footpaths.
Upper city
![GiorcesPalanuovoBG1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/GiorcesPalanuovoBG1.JPG)
The upper city, surrounded by Venetian walls built
in the 16th century, forms the historic centre of Bergamo.
Walking along the narrow medieval streets, you can visit numerous places of interest including:
*''
Cittadella'' (Citadel), built under the rule of the
Visconti
Visconti is a surname which may refer to:
Italian noble families
* Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447
** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan
* Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...
in the mid-14th century.
*''Piazza Vecchia''
*''Palazzo della Ragione''. This was the seat of the administration of the city in the medieval municipal period. Built in the
12th century, it was revamped in the
late 16th century by Pietro Isabello. The façade has the
Lion of Saint Mark over a mullioned window, testifying to the long period of Venetian rule. The atrium has a well-preserved 18th-century
sundial
A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...
.
*''Palazzo Nuovo'' (
Biblioteca Civica Angelo Mai
The Biblioteca Civica (est. 1760) of Bergamo, Italy, is a public library founded by Giuseppe Alessandro Furietti
Giuseppe Alessandro Furietti (24 January 1685 – 14 January 1764) was a Roman Catholic cardinal, an antiquarian and philologist ...
). It was designed by
Vincenzo Scamozzi in the early 17th century and completed in 1928.
*
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...
. It was built
from 1137 on the site of a previous religious edifice of the 7th century. Construction continued until
the 15th century. Of this first building the external Romanesque structure and the Greek cross plan remain. The interior was extensively modified in the 16th and 17th centuries. Noteworthy are the great Crucifix and the tomb of
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...
.
*''
Cappella Colleoni
The Cappella Colleoni (Italian: "Colleoni Chapel") is a chapel and mausoleum attached to the Basilica of St. Mary Major in the northern Italian city of Bergamo.
Dedicated to the saints Bartholomew, Mark and John the Baptist, it was built ...
'', annexed to Santa Maria Maggiore, is a masterwork of
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...
and
decorative art
]
The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...
. It contains the tomb of
Bartolomeo Colleoni.
*''Battistero'' (Baptistry), an elegant octagonal building dating from 1340.
*
Bergamo Cathedral
Bergamo Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Bergamo, ''Cattedrale di Sant'Alessandro'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Bergamo, Italy, dedicated to Saint Alexander of Bergamo, patron saint of the city. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bergamo.
History
From ...
. It was built in the late 17th century with later modifications.
*''Rocca''. It was begun in 1331 on the hill of Sant'Eufemia by William of Castelbarco, vicar of
John of Bohemia
John the Blind or John of Luxembourg ( lb, Jang de Blannen; german: link=no, Johann der Blinde; cz, Jan Lucemburský; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of ...
, and later completed by
Azzone Visconti
Azzone Visconti (7 December 1302 – 16 August 1339) was lord of Milan from 1329 until his death. After the death of his uncle, Marco Visconti, he was threatened with excommunication and had to submit to Pope John XXII. Azzone reconstituted his fa ...
. A wider citadel was added, but is now partly lost.
*''San Michele al Pozzo Bianco''. Built in the 12th century, this church contains several frescoes from the 12th to the 16th centuries, including paintings by
Lorenzo Lotto.
*''
Tempietto di Santa Croce''. Small 12th century octagonal
Romanesque chapel.
*''Museo Civico Archeologico''. It is housed in the Cittadella.
*''
Museo di Scienze Naturali Enrico Caffi
Civic Museum of Natural Science Enrico Caffi ( it, Museo di Scienze Naturali Enrico Caffi) is a natural history museum in Bergamo, Italy. The museum has more than 55,000 artifacts, fossils, animal and plant specimens. The museum is founded in 1918 ...
''. It is housed in the Cittadella.
*''
Orto Botanico di Bergamo "Lorenzo Rota"'' (
botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
).
Lower city
![Vista dalle Mura](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Vista_dalle_Mura_...._-_panoramio.jpg)
The lower city is the modern centre of Bergamo. At the end of the 19th century ''Città Bassa'' was composed of residential neighborhoods built along the main roads that linked Bergamo to the other cities of Lombardy. The main boroughs were
Borgo Palazzo
Borgo may refer to the following places:
Finland
* Borgå
France
* Borgo, Haute-Corse
Italy
* Borgo (rione of Rome), a ''rione'' in the City of Rome.
*Borgo a Mozzano, in the province of Lucca
*Borgo d'Ale, in the province of Vercelli
*Borgo di ...
along the road to
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...
,
Borgo San Leonardo along the road to
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and
Borgo Santa Caterina
Borgo may refer to the following places:
Finland
* Borgå
France
* Borgo, Haute-Corse
Italy
* Borgo (rione of Rome), a ''rione'' in the City of Rome.
* Borgo a Mozzano, in the province of Lucca
*Borgo d'Ale, in the province of Vercelli
*Borgo ...
along the road to
Serio Valley. The city rapidly expanded during the 20th century. In the first decades, the municipality erected major buildings like the new courthouse and various administrative offices in the lower part of Bergamo in order to create a new center of the city. After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
many residential buildings were constructed in the lower part of the city which are now divided into twenty-five neighborhoods:
![BergamoQuartieriMap](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/BergamoQuartieriMap.png)
*Boccaleone
*Borgo Palazzo
*Borgo Santa Caterina
*Campagnola
*Carnovali
*Celadina
*Centro-Papa Giovanni XXIII
*Centro-Pignolo
*Centro-Sant'Alessandro
*
Città Alta
Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...
*
Colli
*
Colognola
*Conca Fiorita
*Grumello del Piano
*Longuelo
*
*Malpensata
*Monterosso
*
Redona
Redona, , is a quarter of the Italian city of Bergamo in Lombardy. Until 1927, when it was annexed to the city, Redona was an independent municipality (Italian: comune). The higher elevations of land in Redona, on the shoulder of the Maresana hi ...
*San Paolo
*San Tomaso de' Calvi
*
Santa Lucia
*
Valtesse-San Colombano
*
Valverde con Valtesse-Sant'Antonio
*Villaggio degli Sposi
The most relevant sites are:
*''
Accademia Carrara
The Accademia Carrara, (), officially Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti di Bergamo, is an art gallery and an academy of fine arts in Bergamo, in Lombardy in northern Italy. The art gallery was established in about 1780 by , a Bergamasco collect ...
''
*''Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea'' (GAMeC, Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art).
Government
Demographics
In 2010, there were 119,551 people residing in Bergamo (in which the greater area has about 500 000 inhabitants), located in the province of Bergamo,
Lombardia, of whom 46.6% were male and 53.4% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 16.79 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 23.61 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 17.88 percent (minors) and 20.29 percent (pensioners).
The average age of Bergamo residents is 45 compared to the Italian average of 43. In the eight years between 2002 and 2010, the population of Bergamo grew by 5.41 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 5.77 percent.
Economy
Bergamo is situated in
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
, Italy's northern region where about a quarter of
the country's GDP is produced.
Nowadays, the city has an advanced tertiary economy focussed on banking, retail, and services associated to the industrial sector of its province. Corporations and firms linked to the city include
UBI banking group,
Brembo
Brembo S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. Its head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy.
History
Brembo was established in Paladina, Italy on January 11, 1961 ...
(braking systems),
Tenaris
Tenaris S.A. is a global manufacturer and supplier of steel pipes and related services, primarily for the energy industry with nearly 23,000 employees around the world. It is a majority-owned subsidiary company of the Techint Group, which ha ...
(steel), and
ABB (power and automation technology).
Culture
Notable natives
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...
was born in Bergamo in 1797. He's considered one of the most important composers of all time, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with
Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...
and
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania".
Many years later, in 1898, Giu ...
, he was a leading composer of the bel canto opera style during the first half of the nineteenth century and a probable influence on other composers such as
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
.
Bergamo was the hometown and last resting place of
Enrico Rastelli
Enrico Rastelli (19 December 1896 – 13 December 1931) was an Italian juggler, acrobat and performer.
Biography
Rastelli was born in Samara, Russia into a circus family. Both his parents were performers and it did not take long before the you ...
, 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 of Rastelli within his
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
. A number of painters were active in the town as well; among these were
Giovanni Paolo Cavagna
Giovanni Paolo Cavagna (c. 1550 – May 20, 1627) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period, active mainly in Bergamo and Brescia.
Biography
He was born in Borgo di San Leonardo in Bergamo. He is said to have trained in Venice with ...
,
Francesco Zucco
Francesco Zucco (, c.1570 – May 3, 1627) was an Italian painter.
Zucco was born in Bergamo. The year of his birth is uncertain, but is known to be no later than 1575. Zucco studied art for a time in Cremona before returning to Bergam ...
, and
Enea Salmeggia
Enea Salmeggia (c. 1556 – 23 February 1626) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period, active mainly in his native city of Bergamo.
Biography
He was also known as ''Il Talpino''. He trained with members of the Campi family, and l ...
, each of whom painted works for the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Sculptor
Giacomo Manzù and the bass-baritone opera singer
Alex Esposito
Alex Esposito is an Italian bass-baritone opera singer, best known for singing Mozart roles, especially Leporello in Don Giovanni.
Esposito was born in Bergamo. He debuted at the Royal Opera in 2007 as Alidoro in La Cenerentola and sang Leporel ...
were born in Bergamo.
The American electrical engineer and professor
Andrew Viterbi
Andrew James Viterbi (born Andrea Giacomo Viterbi, March 9, 1935) is an American electrical engineer and businessman who co-founded Qualcomm Inc. and invented the Viterbi algorithm. He is the Presidential Chair Professor of Electrical Engineeri ...
, inventor of
Viterbi's algorithm
The Viterbi algorithm is a dynamic programming algorithm for obtaining the maximum a posteriori probability estimate of the most likely sequence of hidden states—called the Viterbi path—that results in a sequence of observed events, especiall ...
, was born in Bergamo, before migrating to the US during the Fascist era because of his Jewish origins. Designers born in Bergamo include the late
Mariuccia Mandelli
Mariuccia Mandelli (January 31, 1925 – December 6, 2015) was an Italian fashion designer and entrepreneur. Mandelli established her ready-to-wear fashion house, Krizia, in 1954 by bringing suitcases of samples to shops in Milan out of her Fiat ...
, the founder of
Krizia and one of the first female
fashion designer
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
s to create a successful line of men's wear.
Sports
* Bergamo's
football team is
Atalanta
Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology.
There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...
who play in the top level
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
at the
Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia
Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, known for sponsorship reasons as the Gewiss Stadium since July 2019 and as Stadio di Bergamo in UEFA competitions, is a stadium in Bergamo, Italy. It is the home of club Atalanta and has a capacity of 21,000 seat ...
.
* The city has a women's
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
team named
Foppapedretti Bergamo
Volley Bergamo is an Italian women's volleyball club based in Bergamo and currently playing in the Serie A1.
Previous names
Due to sponsorship, the club have competed under the following names:
* Volley Bergamo (1991–1992)
* Foppapedretti Be ...
.
* The city is also home to the
Bergamo Lions
The Bergamo Lions are an American football team from Bergamo, Italy established in 1983 and playing in the Italian Football League. They won the Eurobowl in 2000, 2001 and 2002, while losing to the Vienna Vikings in the finals of 2004 and 2005 Eur ...
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
team, one of the most successful in
European Football League
The European Football League (EFL) established in 1986, was a tournament for the best European American football teams affiliated to IFAF (International Federation of American Football - Europe), which replaced the European Federation of American ...
history, winning multiple
Eurobowls.
* The Olympic gold medalist skier
Sofia Goggia
Sofia Goggia (; born 15 November 1992) is an Italian World Cup alpine ski racer who competes in all disciplines and specialises in the speed events of downhill and super-G.
She is a two-time Olympic downhill medalist — gold at the 2018 Winter ...
was born in Bergamo in 1992. She won the gold medal in downhill skiing at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
* The Olympic gold medalist snowboarder
Michela Moioli
Michela Moioli (born 17 July 1995) is an Italian snowboarder. She has represented Italy at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, winning a gold medal. She competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics, in Wom ...
was born in a town in the metropolitan area of Bergamo in 1995. She won the gold medal in snowboard cross at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the silver medal in mixed team snowboard cross at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Theater
![Teatro Civico GD](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Teatro_Civico_GD.jpg)
The main city theater is the
Gaetano Donizetti Theater; another historical theater is the , in the Upper Town.
More modern is the tensile structure that houses the "Creberg Teatro Bergamo" with 1536 seats which make it one of the largest theaters in the province.
Another theatrical structure is the Auditorium in Piazza della Libertà. The building that houses the Auditorium was built in 1937 as the seat of the local Fascist Federation and known as the "House of Freedom".
Among the theatrical companies operating in Bergamo there are the TTB (teatro tascabile di Bergamo), La Compagnia Stabile di Teatro, Erbamil, Pandemonium Teatro, Teatro Prova, Ambaradan and Slapsus, Luna and Gnac, the CUT (University Theater Center) and La Gilda delle Arti - Teatro Bergamo.
Education
Transportation
Airport
Bergamo is served by
Il Caravaggio International Airport south-east of the town. The city is also served by
Milan Linate Airport
Milan Linate Airport is the third international airport of Milan, the second-largest city and largest urban area of Italy, behind Malpensa Airport and Orio al Serio Airport. It served 9,233,475 passengers in 2018, being the fifth busiest air ...
south-west of Bergamo.
Motorway
Motorway
A4 is the main axis connecting the city with the east and the west of the country, to cities such as
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
,
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
and
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
.
Railway
Bergamo railway station
Bergamo railway station ( it, Stazione di Bergamo) serves the city and ''comune'' of Bergamo, in the region of Lombardy, northern Italy. Opened in 1854, it is located at the junction of lines to Brescia, Lecco, Seregno and Treviglio.
The station ...
is connected to
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Lecco,
Cremona
Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...
,
Treviglio,
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...
and
Monza
Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...
with regional trains operated by
Trenord
Trenord is a railway company which is responsible for the operation of regional passenger trains in Lombardy. The company was established by the two main railway companies in Lombardy, Trenitalia and Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM), to manage train oper ...
.
The city is also served by two daily
Frecciargento services to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
operated by
Trenitalia
Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government, the company was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulation of rail transp ...
.
Urban transport
Transport within Bergamo is managed by ATB and includes a network of bus lines together with two funicular systems opened in 1887 ("Funicolare di Bergamo Alta") and in 1912 ("Funicolare di Bergamo San Vigilio"). The
Bergamo–Albino light rail was inaugurated in 2009.
Two
light rail lines are currently in the planning stage:
* Line 2 Bergamo FS - Villa d'Almè -
San Pellegrino Terme
* Line 3 Hospital-Railway Station FS-Trade Fair - Bergamo Airport
International relations
Twin towns − sister cities
Bergamo is
twinned with:
*
Greenville, United States, since 1985
[
* Pueblo, United States][
* ]Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''Mill (grinding), mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department, in the Grand Est Regions of France, region, eastern France, close to the France–Switzerl ...
, France, since 1989[
* ]Tver'
Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population:
Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...
, Russia, since 1989[
* Bengbu, People's Republic of China, since 1988][
* Cochabamba, Bolivia, since 2008
* Olkusz, Poland, since 2009
Bergamo has a partnership with:
* Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland][
* Bolesław, Poland][
* Posadas, Argentina, as Friendship and Cooperation city since 1998
]
Consulates
Bergamo is home to the following consulates
A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth count ...
:
* Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
* Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
* Switzerland
Notable people
* Giovanni Michele Alberto da Carrara
Giovanni Michele Alberto da Carrara ( en, John Michael Albert) (1438–1490) was a Bergamasque Renaissance humanist and medical doctor. He wrote about philosophy, history, science, and medicine. He was also a Latin poet and orator. Despite his na ...
* Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...
* Giacomo Manzù
* Lorenzo Lotto
* Andrea Previtali
Andrea Previtali (c. 1480 –1528) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Bergamo. He was also called Andrea Cordelliaghi.
Biography
Previtali was a pupil of the painter Giovanni Bellini. In Bergamo, he painte ...
* Pietro Locatelli
* Gianandrea Gavazzeni
Gianandrea Gavazzeni (25 July 19095 February 1996) was an Italian pianist, conductor (especially of opera), composer and musicologist.
Gavazzeni was born in Bergamo. For almost 50 years, starting from 1948, he was principal conductor at La Sca ...
* Francesco Akira
Francesco Begnini (born November 12, 1999), better known by his ring name Francesco Akira is an Italian professional wrestler, working for the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the United Empire stable and ...
Religion
Churches
* San Benedetto, Bergamo
San Bernardino in Pignolo, Bergamo San Bernardino in Pignolo is a Roman Catholic church located on Via Pignolo #59, in Bergamo, region of Lombardy, Italy.
History
The Franciscan monk San Bernardino of Siena had travelled to Bergamo in 1411 and founded the monastery of Santa Maria ...
* San Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo
San Giovanni XXIII is a modern, Roman Catholic church attached to the new Ospedale Pope John XXIII of Bergamo, region of Lombardy, Italy. The church was designed by the architects Aymeric Zublena, Pippo and Ferdinando Traversi, and consecrated i ...
* San Michele al Pozzo Bianco
San Michele al Pozzo Bianco is a church in the upper town of Bergamo, on a small piazza of the same name, near Porta Sant'Agostino, on Via Porta Dipinta. The church is now in a corner next to the frescoed house of the vicar, entered by a large ro ...
References
Further reading
External links
Municipality of Bergamo official website
Visit Bergamo
{{Authority control
Castles in Italy
History of Bergamo