Appianline -

Located on the edge of the Alps, Bergamo has its own particular charm compared with any other citiy of the Lombard region. It offers many chance of amusements thanks to its geographical position, the city has prospered so much in history that it has been split into two separate cities, known as Bergamo Alto and Bergamo Basso. Alto refers to the upper city and Basso refers to the lower city. Alto is the medieval and Renaissance center developed on the top of a hill where a protohistoric population settled itself and gave it the configuration that still characterizes the oldest part of the town enclosed within walls, while Basso is the modern centre developed on the plain. Celts, Goths, Romans, Lombards succeeded on the hill, but little can now be seen of them: some of the most important monuments date back to the Middle Ages.
The four centuries under the Venetian domination represent the most significant period, when Venice and Bergamo were very close, both from an historical and a cultural point of view. The town followed the historical events of Lombard region up to the union to the Italian Kingdom. Bergamo mountain area in winter, is a valid part of the best equipped skiing areas of Lombardy, the mountains of Bergamo territory are always fascinating, they share their charm with the lakes area (Lake Iseo, Lake Sebino), with Lovere, Predore, Sarnico, home of art of navigation, the rare suggestion of Monte Isola, in the middle of the lake, the biggest lake island of Europe. Place for meetings and exchanges, useful link and transportation way, the lake Iseo is, since centuries, the natural reference point for Brescia and Bergamo people, who did settle down along its sides. Furthermore the lake is today an environmental component of great importance for the numerous centers that show themselves on it and for both provinces; an estate to be guarded and estimated, also considering the role that Sebino is more and more assuming as far as the leisure time and tourism is concerned.

Bergamo to see

Piazza Vecchia, with Palazzo del Comune or Palazzo della Ragione, the Commune Tower, the Venetian Major's House and the Library Angelo May, formerly the town hall.
All round the Cathedral Square, there are the Cathedral, St Maria Maggiore; the Colleoni Chapel, one of the most significant examples of the lombard Renaissance, and the Baptistery. The Castle of S. Vigilio, offers one of the most suggestive views of the old town. Two different cable railways take people from downtown either to the Castle or to the upper town..

The old town lays amongst the greenery, to the advantage of the landscape.
This strip of lush vegetation connects the historical town with the hill region extending westward. The territory, included in the regional park "Parco dei Colli" of Bergamo, is full of villas, farmhouses, vegetable gardens, gardens, woods and is enriched with some important historical and architectonic elements, such as th former monastery of Astino.

Accademia Carrara, one of the most important picture-galleries in Italy and the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art.

The new centre, connecting the East to the West part of the lower town, is crossed by the Sentierone, a traditional meeting point and shopping area for the people living in Bergamo.