• Art & Culture

Bergamo in a weekend

A perfect square, the masterpieces of the Carrara Academy, the Venetian Walls Unesco World Heritage Site. Discover Bergamo!

Viewed from above, Bergamo is just like Stendhal described it: “The most beautiful place on earth.” Palaces, towers and domes, all within a single embrace.

The embrace of the city walls: built starting from 1561 by the Republic of Venice, the circle, just over five kilometres long, is perfectly preserved and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017. The sequence of impressive gates and bastions take us straight into a page of history, discovered as we walk all around them. On a clear day, it’s like a theory of infinity.

In the heart of the Renaissance. Piazza Vecchia is Bergamo’s historic lounge: it is the “perfect” square loved by Le Corbusier. Facing each other, two extraordinary wings create a play of perspectives: the Palazzo della Ragione and the Palazzo Nuovo (currently Biblioteca Angelo Mai) with its white marble façade. Behind the Palazzo della Ragione, yet another world reveals itself: from the intellectual Romanesque style of Santa Maria Maggiore, with its amazing wood inlays depicting stories designed by Lorenzo Lotto, to the mausoleum of the humanist condottiero Colleoni.

And that’s not all. Upper Bergamo offers unexpected glimpses as you slowly lose yourself among hidden courtyards, flavours, and ancient skills. From Gombito to Colle Aperto, where, surrounded by the vegetation, the elegant profile of another treasure, the former Chiesa di Sant’Agostino dominates the scene.

The rediscovered museum. The citizens of Bergamo love it, tourists flock to visit it, the social media give it awards. After a seven-year restoration, the Accademia Carrara (1794) is one of the most visited museums in Italy. Among the nearly 600 works, visitors can simply let themselves be enchanted by masterpieces like Raphael’s “San Sebastiano” or the “Ritratto di bambina” by Giovan Battista Moroni. Be prepared for a journey through five centuries of Italian art.

All aboard! Two funiculars: the first one, built in 1887, takes 2 minutes and 40 seconds to climb up to Bergamo Alta, the Upper Town. The other one reaches even higher, up to San Vigilio, in a pristine spot tucked away in the Parco dei Colli. Here the perspective is overturned, the Upper Bergamo is now low and becomes part of a boundless landscape.

Gates and ramparts, the perfect square, a rediscovered museum, two funiculars, and a star of opera, Gaetano Donizetti. Five aspects that render Bergamo irresistible

Take me here: Bergamo in a weekend

On the same topic

Lombardy's highest steeples and bell towers

There are four bell towers from which to admire the region's beautiful landscapes and squares, all of them over 90 metres high
  • Art & Culture
Lombardy's highest steeples and bell towers

Bernardino Campi in Pizzighettone

Frescoes in the San Bassiano Church in Pizzighettone
  • Art & Culture
Bernardino Campi in Pizzighettone

The Cloister of Voltorre

The monastic art of the Cloister of Voltorre
  • Art & Culture
The monastic art of The Cloister of Voltorre

The Violin’s Museum

on Google Arts & Culture!
  • Art & Culture
The Violin’s Museum

Museum Varese

Mummies, archaeological finds, design, ancient and contemporary art: museums to suit all tastes!
  • Art & Culture
Museum Varese, what to see?

Seriate, and its charming historic villas

  • Art & Culture
Seriate, and its charming historic villas

Castles Lodi

The history of a glorious past between the castles and fortresses of the Lodi area
  • Art & Culture
Castles Lodi, a guide to Lombardy

Diocesan Museum

Pre-view of the exhibited art-works
  • Art & Culture
Diocesan Museum

Bergamo in a weekend

A perfect square, the masterpieces of the Carrara Academy, the Venetian Walls Unesco World Heritage Site. Discover Bergamo!
  • Art & Culture
Bergamo in a weekend

Castles Sondrio

In the mountains between castles and strongholds that challenge the peaks of the Valtellina
  • Art & Culture
Castles Sondrio

Milan, following Leonardo’s footsteps

Pictorial suggestions and drawings. Machines and impressive hydraulic engineering works. In Milan, a journey in the wake of Leonardo
  • Art & Culture
Milan, following Leonardo’s footsteps

Angera and the Open Air Museum

A beautiful lakefront and a very picturesque aura in the province of Varese
  • Art & Culture
Visit Angera and surroundings: some tips

Museums in Lombardy

Some suggestions on museums to visit in Milan and outside the Lombard capital
  • Art & Culture
Museums in Lombardy, suggestions on cultural tourism

Castles in Lombardy

The charm of Lombardy through its castles
  • Art & Culture
Castles in Lombardy, Scenes from a Fairy Tale

Summer Guided Tours to the Town's Museums

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday till the end of August
  • Art & Culture
Summer Guided Tours to the Town's Museums

Brianza Villas Itinerary

  • Art & Culture
Villa Gallarati Scotti (Oreno di Vimercate)

Lombardy’s Legends and Traditions

An invitation to take a journey into Lombardy’s folklore, rediscovering seven ancient legends and traditions
  • Art & Culture
Lombardy’s Legends and Traditions

Three Days in Milan: A Cultural Journey Through Time, Art, and Innovation

Plan the perfect 3-day trip to Milan with the YesMilano City Pass. Visit top attractions like the Duomo, Sforza Castle, and Leonardo da Vinci Museum. Skip lines and enjoy free audioguides!
  • Art & Culture
discovering milano

Following Leonardo's footsteps in Milan

  • Art & Culture
Following Leonardo's footsteps in Milan

Urban sculptures and works of art: Lombardy's open-air museum

Lesser known statues, monuments, and works of art, concealed within the streets and piazzas of Lombardy's cities: a prestigious artistic heritage is waiting to be discovered 
  • Art & Culture
Opere e sculture urbane: il museo a cielo aperto della Lombardia