Bergamo is a charming city with an old medieval quarter that sits beautifully on a hilltop above the modern districts. The old part of town is called Bergamo Alta, and it was defended by the Venetians in the 16th century against Milan with city walls and entrance gates, which today are included on UNESCO’s list of world cultural heritage. Since then, and primarily from the 19th century, Bergamo grew from being the old town surrounded by several villages to an urban formation in what is today the lower town, Città Bassa.

You can get to Bergamo Alta with the city’s funicular, and from here the experiences start with many sights, narrow streets and lovely squares. You can start the tour at Piazza Vecchia, Bergamo Alta’s central square, which was built on the city’s ancient Roman forum. Beautiful Renaissance buildings were built around the square from the 15th century, and the most famous are Palazzo del Podestà, Palazzo della Ragione and Biblioteca civica Angelo Mai. You can also visit the square’s characteristic tower, from which there is a nice view of the city.

Palazzo della Ragione was Bergamo’s town hall, and behind the old mansion is the adjacent square, Piazza del Duomo, home to the city’s Sant’Alessandro Cathedral. The current church was built over centuries and was completed in 1889. Next to the cathedral is the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, whose history dates to around the year 1100. Here you can see various mosaics and tapestries in the beautiful interior. A good example of the decoration is the chapel Cappella Colleoni, which was built in 1475 and painted with frescoes in the 1730s.

At the opposite end of the relatively small Bergamo Alta is the castle La Rocca, which was built in the 14th century. There used to be a Roman fortress here, and today the area is laid out as a park with a nice view, and there is also an exhibition about the history of Bergamo. Below La Rocca is the Accademia Carrera art museum, which specializes in Venetian art, and the large collection is considered among Italy’s best in its field. The museum building was built in 1810 in neoclassical style.