More from Bergamo

Andy in the Piazza Vecchia

Here are some more photos from our day-and-a-half in Bergamo. When we arrived Wednesday evening we got a bus from the airport to the city center and walked to the Funicolare--the funicular took us up to the Città Alta where our B&B was.

Something fun about taking a train up such a steep slope--the brochure says the gradient is 52%!


The streets of Bergamo Alta are narrow corridors enclosed by towering stone buildings. The effect is dark and tunnel-like. Dodging cars and motorbikes was sometimes a challenge!


When you come to a piazza the sight of sky and open space feels welcoming.

Front of Biblioteca Civica in Piazza Vecchia


Gargoyles under the Campanone

After settling in to a wonderful room in an amazing old stone house on Via San Lorenzo, we walked around the old town a bit and ate dinner at the Caffè della Funicolare, above the funicular line with a fantastic view over Bergamo Bassa.

Our phrasebook told us what half the things on the menu were, so we each ended up ordering something not completely sure what it was. Andy told me some hilarious stories of other times he'd ordered from a menu not knowing what to expect--to be served soups filled with unmentionable ingredients or giant bowls of melted cheese.

The food that arrived was edible, not scary at all, but not very exotic either. I can't help it--I'm of the camp that feels that if I'm in Italy, I want Italian food, by which, like many other foreigners, I mean pasta or pizza. The baked ham and potatoes were delicious, but the dish's main fault was that it could have been British.

It seems to be a common phenomenon that tourists always want pizza or pasta in Italy, and try to ignore all the other varieties of Italian food. Our phrase book included how to say "I'd like pasta for my main course" to help those poor tourists.

The conventions of Italian dining seem rather elaborate; something about pasta for the first course, meat or fish for the second course, all with wine and bread and of course a coffee (espresso) afterwards. We couldn't figure out where pizza fit into that scheme.

Anyway, we did get our fill of some wonderful Italian bruschette, panini, insalate, gnocchi, Chianti, and even pizza in the end! It was fantastic.

From the north side of the city walls


City walls and stone causeway

Thursday dawned bright and hazy. The sun shone diffusely onto our little city on the hill, the wide flat valley below obscured in mist.


We walked around the city wall, built by the Venetians, who carved their trademark lions into anything and everything around the city. Many of the winged lions were reading books, or perhaps tearing out the pages.


Snowy Alps glowed in sunlight to the north. What incredible views!




We walked up the hill to the Castello, the highest point in Bergamo, then followed some tiny stone-paved lanes that wound around the terraced hillsides.

A ruined house beside the Castello


Beautiful mountain view obscured by two tourists!

Some of this land is ancient farmland, perhaps from the time of the Celts when this hill was first settled. It's funny to find the Celts here too. I wonder what evidence they left behind.

We also were surprised to see many familiar birds, such as the hooded crow with its distinctive grey cape, which in Britain are confined mostly to Scotland. They're actually common and widespread across Europe and into the Middle East, but they don't live in France, Spain, or England (carrion crow territory). Andy spotted another bird that is common in Europe but rare in Britain, the firecrest. We heard a green woodpecker cackling from a stand of evergreens, but didn't see it. I hope to see one someday!

In our wanderings across these ancient hill farms we came upon a decrepit ruin of what looked like an old hotel and restaurant. It was located along a footpath that cut across the slope and so was not accessible by car. We thought perhaps that was what led to its decline.


What a sad sight, though, a lovely hotel in the most scenic place imaginable, its roof line buckling and painted columns flaking. I am intrigued by the mystery of it--what was it called, who stayed there, who ran the place, what was on the menu?

Building detail along Via San Sebastiano

When we finally got back to town, we were starving, so we stopped in at La Cooperativa for lunch and enjoyed the relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Old men gathered in the corner over a game of cards while we unwound after our hours of walking.

Front of the Cappella Colleoni


Detail on Cappella Colleoni


Detail from the church of Santa Maria Maggiore

In the early evening we made it up to La Rocca, the fortress, for a sunset view over the city. Eventually we made up our minds to go by the Museo Storico for the performance art we had heard about that morning. But we had to stop for a gelato first!