With a population of around 120,000, Bergamo is the fourth-largest city in Lombardy. Bergamo is the seat of theprovince of Bergamo, which counts more than 1,103,000 residents (2020). Themetropolitan area of Bergamo extends beyond the administrative city limits, spanning over a densely urbanized area with slightly fewer than 500,000 inhabitants.[3] The Bergamo metropolitan area is itself part of the broaderMilan metropolitan area, home to more than 8 million people.[4][5][6]
The city of Bergamo is composed of an old walled core, known asCittà Alta ('Upper Town'), nestled within asystem of hills, and the modern expansion in the plains below. The upper town is encircled by massiveVenetiandefensive systems that has been aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site since 9 July 2017.[7]
Bergamo is well connected to several cities in Italy, thanks to themotorway A4 stretching on the axis between Milan,Verona, andVenice. The city is served byIl Caravaggio International Airport, the third-busiest airport in Italy with 12.3 million passengers in 2017. Bergamo is the second most visited city in Lombardy after Milan.[8][9]
Inclassical Latin, the toponym is attested asBergomum, while inlate LatinBergame. The toponym in the localBergamasque dialect of the Lombard language is insteadBèrghem. There are various hypotheses put forward to trace the origin of the name of the city.[10]
Local historian and politicianBortolo Belotti compared the toponym to previousCeltic and pre-Celtic names, of whichBergomum would then only be the Latinisation; the wordberg in Celtic means a protection, fortification or abode. In the writings of early Roman period, the toponymBergomum appears to be associated withBergimus, the Celtic god of mountains or dwellings.[11]
Historian Antonio Tiraboschi argued instead that the toponym stemmed from theProto-Germanic language. The Bergamo toponym is similar to toponyms in various Germanic-speaking areas, and might be associated with *berg +*heim, or the "mountain home".[12] The hypothesis of a Germanic derivation clashes however with the absence of documents regarding Germanic settlements in the area prior to the settlement of theLombards who settled in the northern part of the Italian peninsula after the collapse of the Roman Empire.[13]
Bergomum (as it was known in classical Latin) was first settled by theLigurian tribe of theOrobii, during the Iron Age period.[14] During theCeltic invasion ofnorthern Italy, around the year of 550 BC, the city was conquered by theCeltic tribe ofCenomani.[15]
After the conquest of the Lombard Kingdom byCharlemagne, it became the seat of a county under oneAuteramus (died 816). An important Lombardichoard dating from the 6th to 7th centuries was found in the vicinity of the city in the 19th century and is now in theBritish Museum.[17]
The wars, which were both a result and cause of Venetian involvement in the power politics of mainland Italy, prompted Venice to assert its direct rule over itsmainland domains.
As much of the fighting during the Italian Wars took place during sieges, increasing levels of fortification were adopted, using such new developments as detached bastions that could withstand sustained artillery fire.[19]
For its contribution to theItalian unification movement, Bergamo is also known asCittà dei Mille ('City of the Thousand'), because a significant part of the rank-and-file supporting Giuseppe Garibaldi in his expedition against theKingdom of the Two Sicilies came from Bergamo and its environs.
Bergamo Upper Town andAlpi Orobie from the airport
During the twentieth century, Bergamo became one of Italy's most industrialized areas.
The 201743rd G7 summit on agriculture was held in Bergamo, in the context of the broader international meeting organized inTaormina.[20]
The "Charter of Bergamo" is an international commitment, signed during the summit, to reduce hunger worldwide by 2030, strengthen cooperation for agricultural development in Africa, and ensure price transparency.[21]
In early 2020, during theCOVID-19 pandemic in Italy, Bergamo's healthcare system was overwhelmed by patients withCOVID-19. There were reports of doctors confronted with ethical dilemmas with too few ICU beds and mechanical ventilation systems.[22] Morgues were overwhelmed, and images of military trucks carrying the bodies of COVID-19 victims out of the city were shared worldwide.[23] Aninvestigative report byThe New York Times found that faulty guidance and bureaucratic delays rendered the toll in Bergamo far worse than it had to be.[24]
The town has two centres:Città Alta ('Upper City'), a hilltop medieval town, surrounded by 16th-century defensive walls, and theCittà Bassa ('Lower City'). The two parts of the town are connected byfunicular, roads, and footpaths.
The upper city, surrounded by Venetian walls builtin the 16th century, forms the historic centre of Bergamo.[27]Walking along the narrow medieval streets, you can visit numerous places of interest including:
Cittadella (Citadel), built under the rule of theVisconti in the mid-14th century.
Piazza Vecchia
Palazzo della Ragione. This was the seat of the administration of the city in the medieval municipal period. Built in the12th century, it was revamped in thelate 16th century by Pietro Isabello. The façade has theLion of Saint Mark over a mullioned window, testifying to the long period of Venetian rule. The atrium has a well-preserved 18th-centurysundial.
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. It was builtfrom 1137 on the site of a previous religious edifice of the 7th century. Construction continued untilthe 15th century. Of this first building the external Romanesque structure and the Greek cross plan remain. The interior was extensively modified in the 16th and 17th centuries. Noteworthy are the great Crucifix and the tomb ofGaetano Donizetti.
Battistero (Baptistry), an elegant octagonal building dating from 1340.
Bergamo Cathedral. It was built in the late 17th century with later modifications.
Rocca. It was begun in 1331 on the hill of Sant'Eufemia by William of Castelbarco, vicar ofJohn of Bohemia, and later completed byAzzone Visconti. A wider citadel was added, but is now partly lost.
San Michele al Pozzo Bianco. Built in the 12th century, this church contains several frescoes from the 12th to the 16th centuries, including paintings byLorenzo Lotto.
The lower city is the modern centre of Bergamo. At the end of the 19th century,Città Bassa was composed of residential neighborhoods built along the main roads that linked Bergamo to the other cities of Lombardy. The main boroughs wereBorgo Palazzo along the road toBrescia,Borgo San Leonardo along the road toMilan andBorgo Santa Caterina along the road toSerio Valley. Borgo Santa Caterina is one ofI Borghi più belli d'Italia ('The most beautiful villages of Italy').[28]
The city rapidly expanded during the 20th century. In the first decades, the municipality erected major buildings such as the new courthouse and various administrative offices in the lower part of Bergamo in order to create a new city center. AfterWorld War II, many residential buildings were constructed in the lower part of the city which are now divided into twenty-five neighborhoods:
In 2010, there were 119,551 people residing in Bergamo (in which the greater area has about 500 000 inhabitants), located in theprovince of Bergamo, Lombardy, of whom 46.6% were male and 53.4% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 16.79 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 23.61 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 17.88 percent (minors) and 20.29 percent (pensioners).[citation needed]
The average age of Bergamo residents is 45 compared to the Italian average of 43. In the eight years between 2002 and 2010, the population of Bergamo grew by 5.41 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 5.77 percent.[29]
Bergamo is situated inLombardy, Italy's northern region where about a quarter ofthe country'sGDP is produced.[30]
Nowadays, the city has an advanced tertiary economy focussed on banking, retail, and services associated to the industrial sector of its province. Corporations and firms linked to the city includeUBI banking group,Brembo (braking systems),Tenaris (steel), andABB (power and automation technology).
Gaetano Donizetti was born in Bergamo in 1797. He's considered one of the most important composers of all time, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along withGioachino Rossini andVincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the bel canto opera style during the first half of the nineteenth century and a probable influence on other composers such asGiuseppe Verdi.
Bergamo was the hometown and last resting place ofEnrico Rastelli, a highly technical and world-famousjuggler who lived in the town and, in 1931, died there at the early age of 34. There is a life-sized statue of Rastelli within hismausoleum. A number of painters were active in the town as well; among these wereGiovanni Paolo Cavagna,Francesco Zucco, andEnea Salmeggia, each of whom painted works for the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. SculptorGiacomo Manzù and the bass-baritone opera singerAlex Esposito[31] were born in Bergamo.
The American electrical engineer and professorAndrew Viterbi, inventor ofViterbi's algorithm, was born in Bergamo, before migrating to the US during the Fascist era because of his Jewish origins. Designers born in Bergamo includeNicola Trussardi and the lateMariuccia Mandelli, the founder ofKrizia and one of the first femalefashion designers to create a successful line of men's wear.[32]
The physicistFausto Martelli was born in Bergamo in 1982. Fausto Martelli is known for his fundamental contributions to the physics of liquids and glasses.
More modern is the tensile structure that houses the "Creberg Teatro Bergamo"[33] with 1536 seats which make it one of the largest theaters in the province.
Another theatrical structure is the Auditorium in Piazza della Libertà. The building that houses the Auditorium was built in 1937 as the seat of the local Fascist Federation and known as the "House of Freedom".
Among the theatrical companies operating in Bergamo there are the TTB (teatro tascabile di Bergamo),[34] La Compagnia Stabile di Teatro,[35] Erbamil,[36] Pandemonium Teatro,[37] Teatro Prova,[38] Ambaradan and Slapsus,[39] Luna and Gnac,[40] the CUT (University Theater Center)[41] and La Gilda delle Arti - Teatro Bergamo.[42]
The Olympic gold medalist skierSofia Goggia was born in Bergamo in 1992. She won the gold medal in downhill skiing at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The Olympic gold medalist snowboarderMichela Moioli was born in a town in the metropolitan area of Bergamo in 1995. She won the gold medal in snowboard cross at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the silver medal in mixed team snowboard cross at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Transport within Bergamo is managed by ATB (Azienda Trasporti Bergamo) and includes a network of bus lines together with two funicular systems opened in 1887 ("Funicolare di Bergamo Alta") and in 1912 ("Funicolare di Bergamo San Vigilio"). TheBergamo–Albino light rail operated by TEB (Tramvie Elettriche Bergamasche) was inaugurated in 2009.
Twolight rail lines are currently in the planning stage:
^"Pueblo's Sister Cities Home" (official website). Pueblo, CO, USA: Pueblo Sister Cities Commission. Retrieved28 March 2015.
^"Convenios Internacionales" (official website) (in Spanish). Cochabamba, Bolivia: Gobierno Autónomo Municipal de Cochabamba. Archived fromthe original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved28 March 2015.
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