A MAGICAL PLACE

Bergamo’s beautiful upper town, the Città Alta (pictured above), is a magical place well worth visiting. Use this website to help you plan your trip to Bergamo in Northern Italy and find your way to some of the other lovely towns and villages in Lombardia that are perhaps less well known to tourists.

20110628

Flights to Bergamo Orio al Serio from the Czech Republic

Visitors can fly to Bergamo from more than 30 departure points around Europe and North Africa.  Bergamo's Orio al Serio airport, the fourth busiest in Italy, is a popular arrival point for visitors to Milan and the Italian Lakes as well as the city of Bergamo itself.

The airport is situated only six kilometres from the centre of Bergamo. A bus service connects the airport terminal with Bergamo's Città Bassa (lower town) and Città Alta (upper town). The journey takes about 15 minutes to Città Bassa, 25 minutes to Città Alta.

Here is Best of Bergamo’s updated schedule guide for services from the Czech Republic, from which Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com) flies four times a week out of Prague and Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) three times a week from Brno.

Flight schedule:

CZECH REPUBLIC

From Prague (Wizz Air)
Until March 23, 2012 -- Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday: 10:50 (No flight December 25).
Flight time: 1hr 25mins.

From Brno (Ryanair)
Until October 28 -- Monday: 15:05; Wednesday: 14:05; Friday 18:25.
From October 31 -- Monday: 10:35; Wednesday: 17:15; Saturday: 19:20 (No flights December 24, 26, 31).
Flight time: 1hr 40mins.

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20110621

Did Shakespeare ever visit Bergamo?

What would Shakespeare have made of Bergamo's walls?
Towards the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream, a play is performed to entertain an important character, the Duke, by a group of craftsmen.
After this play, which is performed within the main play, one of the actors, Bottom the Weaver, asks the Duke: ‘Will it please you to see the epilogue, or to hear a Bergamask dance between two of our company?’
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is believed to have been written by William Shakespeare between 1590 and 1596.
Academics believe Shakespeare never travelled abroad. No records exist of him travelling abroad, no friend ever wrote about travelling with him and no foreigner ever wrote about seeing him abroad.
Some scholars believe he could have obtained all his knowledge about Italy from reading, but others say he must have been to Italy since his geographical knowledge is so good.
Shakespeare obviously knew all about Bergamo’s traditional dance because in the stage directions he writes: ‘Here a dance of CLOWNS.’ He must have known the bergamask dance was associated with clowning or buffoonery.
In his writing Shakespeare also refers to sailmaking in Bergamo . Although it seems unlikely as Bergamo is an inland city, it was apparently correct at the time.
Shakespeare obviously had a fascination with Italy as he chose to set many of his plays there. He knew a lot about the geography and politics of Italy, particularly in the areas around Venice and Verona.
I am sure that he would have been impressed with the Città Alta and its imposing walls, which would have been completed when he was a young man.



20110619

Bergamo airport now dedicated to Caravaggio

Portrait of Caravaggio
Bergamo airport at Orio al Serio has changed its name to the Caravaggio International Airport Bergamo - Orio al Serio.
ENAC (the Italian civil aviation board) has approved the decision by SACBO (the management company of Bergamo airport) to dedicate the airport to the painter Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio.
Bergamo airport, which is often known as Milan Bergamo, is now the fourth busiest airport in Italy and you can fly to it from around 30 different countries.
Michelangelo Merisi became known as Caravaggio because he spent the early years of his life living in the small town of that name just south of Bergamo .
The painter is believed to have been born in Milan in 1571 but his family moved to Caravaggio because of an outbreak of plague.
He returned to train as a painter in Milan but went on to work in Rome , Naples , Malta and Sicily until his death at Porto Ercole in Tuscany in 1610.
Caravaggio became famous for his paintings of churches and palaces that combine a realistic observation of the physical and emotional state of human beings with a dramatic use of lighting. This was a formative influence for the baroque school of painting.
Despite his many artistic successes he had a turbulent personal life. He was thrown into jail on several occasions, once vandalised his own apartment and had a death warrant issued for him by the Pope.
Some of his major works, such as The Calling of St Matthew, The Crucifixion of St Peter and Deposition, can be found in churches in Rome, but his work is also well represented in the Uffizi gallery in Florence.
The town of Caravaggio is also worth visiting to see the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Caravaggio, which was built in the 16th century on the spot where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a humble peasant woman.
The Sanctuary was later rebuilt and completed in the 18th century and is now a grand building visited by pilgrims from all over the world.




20110615

New flight to Bergamo from Manchester in 2012

Orio al Serio is Bergamo's airport
Budget airline Jet2.com is to introduce a new flight to Bergamo from Manchester next year.

Jet2.com, which already operates a service from Leeds-Bradford to Bergamo’s Orio al Serio airport, will add the Manchester route in May.   Initially, plans are to fly to Bergamo once per week.

Ian Doubtfire, managing director of Jet2.com, said: “We are delighted to announce more new routes for our customers in the north west.

“Bergamo gives people easy access to the beautiful Italian Lakes, including the stunning Lake Garda.“

Jet2.com currently flies to 35 destinations from Manchester and carried more than a million passengers in 2010, an increase of 20 per cent on 2009.   The airline is predicting similar growth in 2011 to 1.2m passengers.



20110613

Perfect pizza at Trattoria Bernabò

Trattoria Bernabò
A good place for pizza in the Città Alta in Bergamo is the Trattoria Bernabò in Piazza Mascheroni.
This smart restaurant is on the corner of the square where it joins the top of Via Colleoni and is a handy place to stop for either lunch or dinner.
The restaurant offers a list of 18 different pizze with prices starting from €6.50.
We called in towards the end of the lunch period and just ordered pizza as we did not want a big meal, but we were made very welcome and were served with complimentary antipasti while our excellent pizze were cooked to order.
We ate in style in the panelled dining room and ordered a bottle of Valcalepio Bianco from the extensive wine list.
On a return visit we will definitely try the menu alla carta, which offers some unusual antipasti, primi piatti, fish and meat dishes as well as Bergamo specialities.
To look at the menu or for more information visit www.ristorantebernabo.it







20110607

Fly to Bergamo from the Canary Islands

Bergamo's Orio al Serio airport
Visitors can fly to Bergamo from more than 30 departure points around Europe and North Africa.  Bergamo's Orio al Serio airport, the fourth busiest in Italy, is a popular arrival point for visitors to Milan and the Italian Lakes as well as the city of Bergamo itself.

The airport is situated only six kilometres from the centre of Bergamo. A bus service connects the airport terminal with Bergamo's Città Bassa (lower town) and Città Alta (upper town). The journey takes about 15 minutes to Città Bassa, 25 minutes to Città Alta.

Here is Best of Bergamo’s updated schedule guide for services from the Canary Islands, operated by Ryanair (www.ryanair.com), who fly from Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife.

Flight schedule:

CANARY ISLANDS

Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) operates twice-weekly services from Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife Sud.

From Fuerteventura
Until October 29 -- Tuesday: 18:15; Thursday (August 4-25): 11:25; Saturday: 11:15.
Flight time: 4hrs 5mins.

From Gran Canaria
Until October 27 -- Monday: 07:10; Thursday: 06:10.
Flight time: 4hrs 15mins.

From Lanzarote
Until October 26 -- Sunday: 16:55; Wednesday: 17:35.
Flight time: 4hrs 25mins.

From Tenerife Sud
Until October 29 -- Monday: 18:25; Saturday: 10:50.
Flight time: 4hrs 30mins.

(return to Flights Guide)



20110604

Porta San Giacomo an imposing entrance to the Città Alta

Porta San Giacomo
Of the four gates that lead into Bergamo’s Città Alta, the most architecturally impressive is Porta San Giacomo, which can be seen from the Città Bassa below.
The gate was built in 1592 from white-pink Zandobbio marble based on a design by Bonaiuto Lorini, a Florentine who had won a great reputation for his intelligent fortifications and the way he defended cities.
Porta San Giacomo leads out of the Città Alta to Via Sant’Alessandro and the historic spot where Bergamo’s patron saint was decapitated by the Romans in 298 for refusing to renounce his Christian faith, which is marked by a Roman column outside the church of Sant’Alessandro in Colonna.
Porta San Giacomo took its name from an ancient church that was demolished by the Venetians to make way for the new walls when they were built in the 17th century.
To go out of the Città Alta through Porta San Giacomo, leave Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe by Via San Giacomo and join Viale delle Mura where you will enjoy panoramic views over the Città Bassa.
Pass under Porta San Giacomo to reach Via Sant’Alessandro, from where you can turn and take close up photographs of Bergamo’s most beautiful gate.


View Porta San Giacomo in a larger map



20110603

Flying to Bergamo from Belgium and Bulgaria

Visitors can fly to Bergamo from more than 30 departure points around Europe and North Africa. Bergamo's Orio al Serio airport, the fourth busiest in Italy, is a popular arrival point for visitors to Milan and the Italian Lakes as well as the city of Bergamo itself.

The airport is situated only six kilometres from the centre of Bergamo. A bus service connects the airport terminal with Bergamo's Città Bassa (lower town) and Città Alta (upper town). The journey takes about 15 minutes to Città Bassa, 25 minutes to Città Alta.

Here is Best of Bergamo’s updated schedule guide for Belgium’s Brussels (Charleroi) Airport and for Sofia and Plovdiv in Bulgaria. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) has introduced a twice-weekly service from Plovdiv.

Flight schedule:

BELGIUM

Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies three times daily from Brussels Charleroi airport, which is about 45 minutes south of the Belgian capital.

From Brussels Charleroi
Until October 29 -- Daily: 06:20, 12:10, 19:30.
From October 30 -- Monday, Thursday, Friday: 06:20, 13:40, 18:40; Saturday, Sunday: 06:20, 13:40, 19:15 (No flights December 24, 25, 26, 31, January 1).
Flight time: 1hr 35mins.

(Return to flights guide)

BULGARIA

Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com) flies from Sofia four times per week until March 25 and daily from March 27.

From Plovdiv (Ryanair)
Until October 29 -- Tuesday, Saturday: 10:50.
Flight time: 2hrs 30mins.
From Sofia (Wizz Air)
Until October 29 -- Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 11:00; Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: 11:50.
From October 30 --  Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 11:05; Thursday: 13:30 (No flight December 25).
Flight time: 2hrs 5mins.

(Return to flights guide)


Bergamo Main Sights         Bergamo Hotels         Fly to Bergamo

20110602

New flight times for Bergamo Orio al Serio from Albania (Tirana) and Slovakia (Bratislava)


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Visitors can fly to Bergamo from more than 30 departure points around Europe and North Africa.  Bergamo's Orio al Serio airport, the fourth busiest in Italy, is a popular arrival point for visitors to Milan and the Italian Lakes as well as the city of Bergamo itself.

The airport is situated only six kilometres from the centre of Bergamo. A bus service connects the airport terminal with Bergamo's Città Bassa (lower town) and Città Alta (upper town). The journey takes about 15 minutes to Città Bassa, 25 minutes to Città Alta.

Here is Best of Bergamo’s updated schedule guide for Albania’s Tirana-Rinas airport and for Bratislava airport, which as well as serving Slovakia, is about one hour only from the Austrian capital, Vienna.

Albania Airlines (www.albaniaair.com) and the Italian company Belle Air (www.belleair.it) provide at least one flight daily from Tirana. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies five times a week from Bratislava.

Flight schedule:

ALBANIA

Albanian Airlines (www.albanianair.com) and Belle Air (www.belleair.it) fly from Tirana to Bergamo.

From Tirana
Until October 27 -- Monday: 08:30 (Albanian), 15:00 (from June 20, Belle Air); Tuesday: 07:00 (Belle Air); Wednesday: 18:40 (from June 22, Belle Air); Thursday: 08:30 (Albanian), 12:50 (from June 16, Belle Air); Friday: 18:40 (Belle Air); Saturday: 12:50 (from June 11, Belle Air), 18:00 (until June 4, Belle Air), 18:45 (Albanian); Sunday: 18:00 (Belle Air, ex June 12 - 12:50).
Flight time: 1hr 40mins.

(Return to Flights Guide)

AUSTRIA/SLOVAKIA

Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies from Bratislava airport, about an hour to the east of Vienna.

From Bratislava
Until October 29 -- Monday: 08:05; Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: 18:55; Friday: 14:40.
Flight time: 1hr 20mins.

(Return to Flights Guide)