Across Bergamo

 Discover the secrets of the Città Alta

There’s so much to see and be fascinated by in Bergamo’s Città Alta that even regular visitors can find they miss things as they look round.

It is a good idea to engage the services of a professional tour guide who can help you make sense of the joyous juxtaposition of medieval and Renaissance architecture in the upper town that can sometimes be too dazzling to take in.

Elisabetta with a group of visitors

A guide who has lived in the Città Alta and knows every alleyway and stone can also give you the inside story on events and famous people that only a local would know.

Tour guide Elisabetta Campanini, who manages Across Bergamo, provides a bespoke service for visitors who want to really get to know the Città Alta.

She provides tours for both groups and individuals that can be customised to meet specific requirements on themes such as art, history, music and much more.

Elisabetta was born in the Città Alta and lived there for 30 years before moving down the hill to the Città Bassa below. Every single street and fountain and many of the current inhabitants are familiar to her and she will soon make you feel as though you belong there yourself.

The 12th century Palazzo della Ragione

She can tell anecdotes, both humorous and poignant, about the history of this beautiful city and reveal the secrets that lie beneath the ancient stones with which it was built.

Elisabetta says: ‘Bergamo is a casket of wonderful works of art and was the home of famous figures such as Pope John XXIII and Gaetano Donizetti. It is a city that always surprises visitors, thanks to its unusual traits.’ 

Elisabetta is an accredited and experienced tour guide and an accomplished linguist who can lead guided tours in Italian, English, German and French. For Spanish, Russian and Japanese visitors, Elisabetta uses the services of mother tongue speakers who act as translators for her.

If you want to find out the secrets of Bergamo’s captivating Città Alta, contact Elisabetta to arrange a guided tour by visiting www.acrossbergamo.com. 

See Best of Bergamo’s updated Flights Guide

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Marvellous memento of your time in Bergamo

You can now take the beautiful sights of Bergamo’s Città Alta home with you, not just in your pictures, but also in the form of unique souvenirs.

Bookmark
depicting
towers

A range of gold-embossed, leather bookmarks has been created, depicting some of the most beautiful and historic buildings in the upper town.

The bookmarks are now on sale at the Caffè del Tasso in Piazza Vecchia in the Città Alta and at the gift shop in the Accademia Carrara in Piazza Giacomo Carrara in the Città Bassa.

Elisabetta Campanini - creator
 of Bergamo bookmarks

The souvenirs were the idea of Bergamo tour guide Elisabetta Campanini, who used to collect leather bookmarks, buying them at tourist attractions whenever she visited England.

Elisabetta was born and brought up in the Città Alta and is passionate about sharing her detailed knowledge of the upper town with the visitors she shows round.

“It was always my dream to create the same kind of leather bookmarks for my native city that I used to admire in England, to provide people with the opportunity to buy a souvenir of what they have seen during their stay in Bergamo,” she says.

Five different bookmarks

Each bookmark (segnalibro) shows a selection of architectural masterpieces in the Città Alta:

Complete set of Bergamo bookmarks

• One depicts Piazza Vecchia, with Palazzo della Ragione, the Contarini fountain and Civic Library.
• Another shows the landmark towers of the Città Alta - the Gombito Tower and the Campanone.
• There is a bookmark dedicated to the Colleoni Chapel, showing the façade of the building and details such as the rose window and coat of arms of the Colleoni family.
• Three churches, Santa Maria Maggiore, the Baptistery and the Tempietto are represented on a fourth bookmark. 
• And all four gates to the walled city, Porta San Giacomo, Porta San Lorenzo (also sometimes known as Porta Garibaldi), Porta Sant’Alessandro and Porta Sant’Agostino are shown on the fifth bookmark.

The bookmarks are made in Bergamo using high-quality Venetian leather and are on sale individually at five euros or can be bought as a set.

For more details, email freelance tour guide Elisabetta Campanini at info@acrossBergamo.com.

See Best of Bergamo’s updated Flights Guide

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Restored Casinò a triumph for San Pellegrino Terme

Casinò Municipale di San Pellegrino Terme

One of the most magnificent examples of the architectural style known in Italian as stile liberty, the Municipal Casinò at San Pellegrino Terme is now available as a venue for weddings and conventions.

Casinò di San Pellegrino

Both the impressive exterior and ornate interior of the building in Via Bartolomeo Villa have been carefully restored, taking it back to the elegance and sophistication of the glorious days early in the 20th century when it was fashionable for the rich and glamorous to visit San Pellegrino.

The spa town’s Casinò took just 20 months to build between 1905 and 1907 and is generally regarded as a masterpiece of Stile Liberty, or Art Nouveau, as it is also known.

Illustrious guests visiting San Pellegrino Terme to take the waters would come to the Casinò to hear musical concerts or gamble in the Sala da Gioco (gaming room). It became a meeting place for the most eminent people from the worlds of finance and politics as well as the aristocracy.
The gaming room was closed on Mussolini’s orders in 1926 and reopened, for a brief period only, in 1946.

Ornate detail
inside the Casinò

Nowadays under Italian law, gambling is permitted in a few places only, the most famous being the Casinò in Venice.
San Pellegrino Terme and the province of Bergamo are now working in partnership to revive tourism in the town and the restoration of the Casinò and adjacent theatre were the first projects undertaken. There are also plans for a new Spa centre and for the restoration of the Grand Hotel.

The Casinò now provides a prestigious venue for weddings, meetings and conventions. For more information about arranging an event there, visit www.casinosanpellegrinoterme.com.

Guided tours of the Casinò can be booked with Bergamo Su e Giù, who are a small group of dedicated tour guides committed to promoting the unique heritage of Bergamo and the surrounding area. They formed their association to provide services for tourists five years ago and can provide tours with commentary in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Japanese for groups from as few as six, to around 30 people.

Bergamo Su e Giù, which literally means 'Bergamo up and down', have taken more than 600 visitors round the Casinò since it reopened. For more information, visit www.visitbergamo.info.

Sample some San Pellegrino

The name San Pellegrino has become synonymous throughout the world with the bottled aqua minerale that comes from the town.

But since medieval times San Pellegrino Terme, which is about 24 kilometres north of Bergamo in the Valle Brembana, has been a place people visited hoping for a cure for their illnesses. The waters were believed to be particularly effective against uric acid and kidney stones.

San Pellegrino became fashionable at the end of the 19th century and impressive buildings such as the Grand Hotel, il Palazzo della Fonte and il Casinò Municipale were designed for the town by architect Romolo Squadrelli.

It is worth a visit, by car or bus from Bergamo , to see the opulent architecture and to take a stroll along the banks of the River Brembo, where you can imagine what San Pellegrino would have been like at the height of its popularity.

There are plenty of elegant bars and restaurants on the main street looking out over the river.

But wherever you decide to stop for refreshment, make sure you order a bottle of San Pellegrino!

See Best of Bergamo’s updated Flights Guide

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Fifth anniversary festivities for Bergamo tour guides

Bergamo Su e Giù, who are a small group of dedicated tour guides, celebrate their fifth anniversary this month.

Piazza Vecchia features prominently
in Death in the High City

The guides, who are all committed to promoting the unique heritage of Bergamo,  provide tours around the city with commentary in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Japanese and can take groups from as few as six people to around 30 people.

Bergamo Su e Giù literally means Bergamo up and down. The guides have a wealth of local knowledge and over the last five years have delivered many customised guided tours, according to the wishes of particular groups, concentrating on aspects such as art, history or religion, as required.

In the stunning surroundings of the Casino Municipale at San Pellegrino Terme, Bergamo Su e Giù are hosting a fifth anniversary event on Saturday 11 October when their guest will be www.bestofbergamo editor Val Culley, who is the author of a crime novel set in Bergamo, Death in the High City.

On Sunday 19 October they continue their anniversary celebrations with a guided visit to the Museo Arte e Tempo at Clusone.

For more information about Bergamo Su e Giù and their fifth anniversary celebrations visit their website at www.visitbergamo.info or contact them on +39.035.234182.

See Best of Bergamo’s updated Flights Guide

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Bergamo Su e Giù

How to get the inside track on Bergamo

Visitors to Bergamo have a wonderful opportunity to see the architectural treasures of the city from an insider’s point of view.
A small number of dedicated tour guides with a wealth of local knowledge are available to show groups around both the upper and lower towns and point out some of the hidden gems and nooks and crannies that may not be immediately obvious to outsiders.

Looking down on Bergamo from San Vigilio

The guides, who are all committed to promoting the unique heritage of Bergamo, formed their association Bergamo Su e Giù to offer this service to discerning tourists nearly five years ago.
They can provide tours with commentary in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Japanese and can take groups from as few as six people up to around 30 people.
Bergamo Su e Giù, which literally means Bergamo up and down, can provide customised guided tours, according to the wishes of each particular group, concentrating on a particular aspect, such as art, history or religion, as required.
The secretary of Bergamo Su e Giù Elisabetta Campanini was born and brought up in the Città Alta and knows every stone and corner of the old town intimately.
She says: “We are all passionate about Bergamo and are dedicated to helping visitors to discover its uniqueness, its stunning natural beauty and its amazing architectural heritage.
“As we go around the city we are able to bring each area to life, by telling both funny and touching anecdotes about the stories behind each building.
“We also like to take our guests down the lesser-known side streets and show them surprises that many visitors never discover.”

For more information about Bergamo Su e Giù visit their website at www.visitbergamo.info or contact them on +39.035.234182. If you mention that you read about them on Best of Bergamo you will be offered a 10 per cent discount.

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