The Most Beautiful Corner of Italy: A Bergamo Walking Tour

Bergamo is a city of unique charms, where the modern lower town bustles under the watchful gaze of the ancient upper town. On this 75-minute walking tour, you’ll explore Upper Bergamo (or Città Alta) with its iconic towers, fountains and Roman origins, and notice the contrasts with its more modern counterpart.

The tour starts in the Lower Town, where you’ll discover hidden passages in Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe, which connects the upper and lower towns. From there, you’ll see the remaining towers that once made Bergamo a “forest of towers,” including San Pancrazio, Torre del Gombito, and the iconic Campanone.

Many kilometres of the city’s still-intact UNESCO World Heritage walls were built by the Venetians, and you’ll find out how Venice and Milan’s struggle for control of this city has shaped its identity. In the winding cobbled streets of the upper town, you’ll breathe in the atmosphere of the Middle Ages as you pass ancient churches and monasteries including San Francesco, del Carmine, and Sant’Agata. I’ll tell you about Bergamo’s Roman roots, and how it was known as Bergamum in ancient times.

Our tour ends in Piazza Mascheroni, the square named after mathematician Lorenzo Mascheroni, where I’ll point out frescoes depicting scenes from Ludovico Ariosto’s epic poem, Orlando Furioso.

Along the way, you’ll have a chance to:

• Ride the funicular up to the castle hill, passing through the ominous “doors of the dead” before reaching the Rocca, or fortress
• Admire the architecture at Piazza Duomo and Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
• Find out the connection between male reproductive organs and the city
• Learn about Bartolomeo Colleoni, Bergamo’s famed military leader, and the intriguing story of his family emblem
• See which Bergamo square Herman Hesse called “the most beautiful corner of Italy”
• Discover the significance of Bergamo’s fountain network, with landmarks like Fontana di Sant’Eufemia and Contarini Fountain
• Solve the mystery of the “mysterious knight” sarcophagus

Whether you’re discovering Bergamo for the first time or revisiting this captivating city, this walking tour will reveal the layers of history, culture, and modern charm that make Bergamo a northern Italian gem.