Travel Tips

05 Jan Five Hidden Gems of the Veneto

Posted at 07:12h in Architecture, Destinations, Food and Wine, Travel Tips by Italian Tours

The Veneto boasts some of Italy’s most popular tourist attractions, like Venice and Verona, but it also contains hidden gems that are often overlooked and underestimated. You can discover these treasures that lie off the usual tourist path, even in popular destinations. Whether it’s the tranquil trattorias and the serene lagoon at Torcello in Venice or the symmetrical and breathtaking Giardino Giusti in Verona, there’s something to captivate everyone.

Here are five lesser-known places you should consider if you visit this extraordinary corner of Italy. We include each location on our The Lands of the Serenissima tour of the Veneto in June this year.

1. The Scrovegni Chapel: A Frescoed Masterpiece

Padova’s Scrovegni Chapel is an artistic jewel housing a series of breathtaking frescoes by Giotto. The chapel was consecrated in 1305 and is renowned for its narrative cycle depicting the lives of the Virgin Mary and Christ. The artist’s masterful use of perspective and emotional depth was celebrated at the time; it revolutionised art and influenced the newly emerging style, which would later be known as the Renaissance. The meticulous preservation of the chapel and its enormous cultural significance make it a must-visit location. Even for those less excited about art, the experience of being part of a small group walking into this space where vivid colours surround you is spellbinding.

2. Prosecco Hills: A Toast to Tranquility

The Prosecco Hills is a stunning landscape of soft green contours in the foothills of the Dolomites. Part of the area features the vine-covered slopes that make its much-appreciated wine. But it’s also an area for cultivating chestnuts, corn and cheese. It has castles, abbeys, and hilltop churches with impressive views and thousands of years of history. At Follina, the Abbey is a quiet witness to the passing years. The Molinetto della Croda, a nearby watermill, was built in the 1700s. Not far off, the Pieve di San Pietro, a historic church, adds its presence to the unmistakable charm of the surroundings. In the Prosecco Hills, the muted atmosphere lets the heritage of the land speak for itself.

3. Marostica: Living Chess and Medieval Charms

Marostica is a small town with a charming medieval feel. It is famous for its twice-a-year chess game, which takes place on a giant chessboard in the town square and is played with live actors in pageant costumes. The town has meandering cobblestone streets and mediaeval walls watched over by the Lower and Upper Castles. It is not on the regular tourist trail, and the atmosphere resembles a typical provincial town, albeit with impressive attractions.

4. Cittadella: A Fortress Frozen in Time

Cittadella is a small walled city. It was built in the 13th century, and its walls remain largely intact, making it a fascinating spot to visit. You can walk along the walls and explore the city’s many towers, gates and other architectural features. The town also boasts several beautiful churches, museums and galleries, and restaurants and cafes serving local cuisine. Cittadella is a charming and picturesque town that offers a glimpse into medieval Italian life.

5. Vicenza: Palladian Elegance

Vicenza holds a remarkable collection of architectural wonders and a deep cultural heritage. The city is an ideal destination for architecture enthusiasts, who can marvel at the Palladian Basilica and the Teatro Olimpico, among other notable landmarks. The charming streets offer plenty of opportunities to take a leisurely stroll and soak up the local atmosphere. Surrounding the city is the natural beauty of the Berici Hills, which is perfect for outdoor activities.

Discover these hidden gems and others on our Veneto tour, Lands of the Serenissima, which aims to reveal Veneto’s unique secrets by including a mixture of culture, scenery, food, personal time and fun.

13 Oct Uncover the authentic charm of Italy on a small group tour

Posted at 03:12h in Destinations, Travel Tips by Italian Tours

Are you dreaming of a trip to Italy?

With its rich history, culture, and gastronomy, Italy has something to offer everyone. However, while some people enjoy planning their trips months in advance, others find the minutiae of planning overwhelming.

Our small group tours allow you to immerse yourself in the authentic charm of bella Italia, while someone else makes sure everything runs smoothly. Our itineraries are carefully crafted by Luca and Philippa, who personally plan every aspect of the journey. Come along and explore the magic of Italy in a way that’s both intimate and enriching.

What is it that makes our tours so unique?

Carefully planned Itineraries

Our tours are meticulously designed to provide you with an authentic Italian experience. We’ve scoured the country to curate the perfect blend of history, art, culture, and gastronomy.

Small groups

Our small groups of no more than 12 adventurers ensure a personalised and intimate experience. You’ll create meaningful connections with your fellow travellers, your tour leader and the locals you meet along the way.

Slow-paced exploration

We believe in savouring every moment. With a minimum of 3 nights in each location, you’ll spend less time packing and unpacking and more time exploring at your own pace.

Expert Italian tour leaders

Our passionate tour leaders are dedicated to introducing you to Italy’s hidden gems. Their intimate knowledge of the country helps unlock unique experiences that aren’t accessible to all travellers.

Culinary delights

We love introducing our clients to the regional specialities that make eating in Italy so interesting. Most of our meals are à la carte, allowing you to relish the rich flavours of the regional cuisine and enjoy exceptional local wines.

A great time

Our tours are not only about exploring Italy’s hidden gems but also about having a great time. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and we believe it’s important to enjoy every moment, laugh and create some wonderful memories.

14 Aug A POSTCARD FROM OTRANTO, PUGLIA

Posted at 01:31h in Destinations, Travel Tips by Italian Tours

The walled port city of Otranto in Puglia is Italy’s most eastern town. On a clear day, if you gaze out from the city’s walls across the Adriatic, you can make out the coast of Albania and the mountain ranges of Mount Çika. Just as mesmerising is the view from Otranto’s walls of the crystal clear turquoise waters. The town’s outlook, its history, and charming nature make it well worth visiting.

Founded by the Messapians, the town has a history of occupation that includes the Greeks, the Romans and the Normans. One of its most colourful periods was in the 11th century when it became a leading Crusader port.

It is also remembered for a more macabre chapter when, in 1480, the Ottomans invaded and looted the citadel. Legend has it that they sacked the city, killing twelve thousand people, and then went on to massacre the eight hundred survivors who had sought refuge in the cathedral and refused to renounce their Christianity. Historians disagree on the story’s veracity, but it was good enough for the church. Pope Clementine XIV beatified the eight hundred martyrs in 1771, and they were canonised by Pope Francis in 2013.

The most fascinating aspect of the city is the cathedral, whose architecture reflects the 11th-century Norman influence as opposed to the Baroque architecture prevalent elsewhere in Puglia. The highlight is the medieval mosaic floor, one of Italy’s most mysterious and impressive mosaics.

A priest, Pantaleone, carried out the work in 1165, employing a ‘primitive’ style that art critics compare with the Bayeux Tapestry. Scholars continue to debate the significance and inspiration of its allegorical images, which include Adam and Eve, King Solomon, Alexander the Great and King Arthur.

The mosaic’s centrepiece represents three giant Trees of Life, a common motif in early Christian and Islamic art. Amongst the branches of the trees, you will see scriptural scenes, animals, symbols of the months and other fantastical images. It truly is quite remarkable!

The church also contains the macabre Chapel of the Martyrs, where eight hundred skulls are preserved and mounted on the walls.

Don’t miss Otranto on your journeys around the Salento region of Puglia! If you want to come with us, we will visit it on our Puglia – A Road Less Travelled Tour in May and September 2024.

01 Jun FIVE INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT LAKE COMO

Posted at 01:31h in Destinations, Travel Tips by Italian Tours

Lake Como is rightly one of the most popular summer destinations in northern Italy and lots of people know the lake for its beautiful scenery and elegant villas. But there is more to Lake Como than meets the eye.

1. Lake Como is one of the deepest lakes in Italy.

It’s the depth that gives the waters their vivid blue colour that makes for such spectacular vistas! At its deepest points, the waters of Lake Como are more than 425 metres deep. Australia’s deepest lake, by comparison, is Lake St Clair in Tasmania, which is about 200 metres deep.

I’m also guessing that’s why the waters of Lake Como are so cold!

2. The town of Como was an important centre in Roman times.

The Romans built the Via Regina along the lake’s western shore. This placed Como in a vital position on the major trading route between the Po valley on the Italian peninsula and the Rhine Valley in what is now Switzerland. The lake’s popularity as a summer resort also started in Roman times, with wealthy Romans recognizing the beauty of the area and beginning to build villas on the lakeshore.

3. Lake Como supposedly has its very own lake monster, Lario!

The first reported “sighting” was in 1946 when a large reptile-like creature was spotted swimming in the lake. It was named Lariosauro, after the prehistoric reptile whose fossilized remains were found near Lake Como (Lariosaurus balsami).

There have only been a handful of sightings over the years, so it must be very shy!

Main image (above) by Bruce Meier on Unsplash

Photo by Lewis J Goetz on Unsplash

4. Lake Como is the capital of Italy’s silk production.

No one knows precisely how silkworms first came to Italy, but one fascinating account has two priests smuggling them out of China in the 6th Century!
It wasn’t until the 15th Century that silk production in the Como area really commenced. Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, ordered the planting of mulberry trees on the shores of Lake Como. This led to the dramatic expansion of the silk industry, as fascinatingly, silkworms can eat anything but will only produce silk when they are eating mulberry leaves.
The establishment of a prestigious school for silk artisans in the 19th Century cemented Como’s industry dominance. The school still operates today and trains some of the world’s most talented silk masters.

5. Como played a role in closing a dark chapter in Italy’s history.

In 1945, Italian partisan forces captured a party of retreating fascist officials who were fleeing north towards Switzerland. Amongst them were Mussolini and his lover Petacci. They were summarily tried and executed on the shores of the lake at Giulino di Mezzegra, thus ending a sad chapter in Italian history.
When we stayed in Lenno in 2013 after our wedding, we were walking in the hills behind Lenno and stumbled across the site, commemorated by a small plaque on the gate of a private house. It was pretty chilling.

Are you planning a trip to Lake Como?

We can help with recommendations for hotels, restaurants and things to do, even where to buy Como’s famous silk. Just get in touch, and we can put together a custom itinerary for you.
If you’d like to join one of the tours that visit Lake Como, it’s not too late to join our Milan and the Lakes tour in 2022 or start planning for one of our 2023 tours.

12 Aug WHO WAS AUGUSTUS AND WHY IS AUGUST CALLED AUGUST?

Posted at 04:57h in Destinations, Travel Tips by Italian Tours

Image of the Ara Pacis (above) by Rabax63, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Since 1582 our daily lives have been regulated by the Gregorian calendar, a solar dating system that counts our lives in days, months and years. The origin of this calendar goes back much further than this, to ancient Roman times, when society operated under a ten month system. Some months such as marzo were named after gods, while others were simply numbers.

August was originally known as sextilla, the sixth. But in 8BCE the emperor Augustus renamed the month after himself. As you do!!

So who was Augustus and what is his story?

Augustus was a noble Roman, born Gaius Octavian, and adoSpted by his great uncle, Julius Caesar. As a result he changed his name to Gaius Julius Caesar.

Adoption of heirs was common among upper class families in ancient Rome. Romans were very concerned about succession and family legacy and if there was no male heir, it was a common practice to adopt young male family members so that the family name, assets and status could survive.

Julius Caesar intended his adopted son to inherit the leadership but fate intervened. Acting in response to Caesar’s autocratic approach and penchant for radical change, and indeed fearful that he would appoint himself king of Rome, a dissident group of senators carried out the now notorious assassination of their leader, scuttling Gaius’ chances of inheriting the leadership role. In response Gaius joined forces with Mark Antony to fight and defeat Caesar’s assassins in a bloody civil war.

The senate accepted that Rome would thrive under the leadership of Augustus as a single ruler. He was given the title Augustus, meaning the venerable one. His appointment was consecrated by the auguri , a religious group of mystics whose role was to observe and interpret the signs (usually the behaviour of birds) to determine the approval of the gods for any proposed action. This meant that not only was he emperor, but he was also the head priest, and a god.

In English august means a respected, impressive, magnificent, honourable, exalted type of person. So what was so impressive about the emperor Augustus?

Statue of Augustus from the Villa of Livia near Rome
Image by Sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0 and found on Wikimedia Commons

Augustus was first and foremost an astute politician. He had clearly observed and learned from the downfall of his adoptive father Julius Caesar and set out to promote improvement of the status quo without forcing radical change.

His program of improving existing systems of civic government and management resulted in marked improvements to the daily lives of Romans.

He introduced the concept of vigili with the Vigiles Urbani, literally the Watchmen of the City. They were the first urban police and fire fighting forces, and interestingly their name lives on in the vigili urbani, the town police, and the vigili del fuoco, the firefighters in Italy today.

He established the cursus publicus, Rome’s first postal and official transportation service, which conveyed messages, officials and tax revenue between the provinces and Rome. The system involved teams of animals, wagons and drivers moving along routes that connected the various parts of the empire, requisitioning facilities from local communities as they went.

As a clever politician Augustus was also aware of the power politics underlying the gladiatorial games. Under Julius Caesar’s rule, the spending on gladiatorial games had become exorbitant as the elite vied with each other to sponsor more and more extravagant events in order to win prestige and political power. Augustus stepped in to curb this excess, placing limits on both private and public spending and tying the games to the state sponsored imperial religious cult, which of course further strengthened public recognition of the his own position.

Augustus was also interested in the fine arts, and state sponsored artists, writers and philosophers joined the ranks of those surrounding him. He appointed an advisor called Clinio Mecenate whose role was to introduce the best of these people into this circle; and we can thank Mecenate for ‘discovering’ the likes of Horace and Virgil! On top of his interest in the arts, he also completed a massive programme of civic works including the Ara Pacis, the Temple fo Caesar, the Forum of Augustus and the Baths of Agrippa.

Although Augustus was a politician rather than an active fighter, the Roman Empire doubled during his reign. Whether you regard him as the first of the ‘strong men’ or as a model for subsequent politicians, there’s no doubting his achievements. ‘I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble,’ he said. Under Augustus, Rome saw the end of a republic and the beginning of an empire, the end of internal warring and the onset of a long period of social stability and peace, known as the pax romana.

Fireworks for the Festa del Redentore Venezia

14 Jul FESTA DEL REDENTORE – A FESTIVAL OF THANKSGIVING

Posted at 01:31h in Destinations, Travel Tips by Italian Tours

Fireworks and celebrations in the street, a thanksgiving mass and a flotilla of Venetian barges – no, this is not a celebration of Italy’s win in the 2021 Euro Cup this past week but something more ancient and arguably even more important.

This weekend Venetians will celebrate the Festa del Redentore, the Feast of the Redeemer, an annual event that gives thanks to the Madonna for the city’s redemption from the plague of 1575-1577.

This major plague decimated the population of Venice, with an estimated death toll of around 55,000 people, about a third of the city’s population. The brilliant Venetian painter Tiziano (Titian) was just one of those who died. Desperate for an end to his people’s suffering, Doge Alvise I Mocenigo promised the Madonna that he would build a church as an offering and make an annual thanksgiving if she would rid the city of the disease.

The doge’s prayer was answered and the city delivered from the plague. The Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio was promptly commissioned to build Il Redentore as a votive offering on the island of Giudecca across the lagoon from the main island. Every year since, on the third weekend of July, Venice has honoured the doge’s promise, with Venetians and visitors alike gathering to celebrate the end of the pestilence.

Main image (above) by Marco Chilese on Unsplash

The Chiesa del Redentore on Giudecca
Image by Luukas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Those who have spent time in Venice may be familiar with the vaporetto stop called Zattere, where you board the vaporetto that will take you across to Giudecca. Zattere literally means ‘pontoon’ and it refers to the pontoon bridge that was set up for the grateful inhabitants to walk across from the main island to visit Il Redentore. The bridge is erected every year and its official opening signals the beginning of the festival, which goes on to celebrate the city’s deliverance with a huge fireworks display, a regatta of traditional boats along the Giudecca canal and a holy mass at Il Redentore.

Venetians have maintained this important annual festival for over 400 years with a single exception: ironically the event was cancelled in 2020 because of the Covid19 epidemic. We join with all Italians in welcoming the return of the Festa del Redentore this year in anticipation of a brighter future in the months to come.

The pontoon bridge linking Zattere and Giudecca
Image byAisano, CC BY-SA 4.0 and found on Wikimedia Commons

08 Dec COPING IN THE YEAR OF COVID

Posted at 00:28h in Destinations, Travel Tips by Italian Tours

2020 has been a devastating year for so many of us, and while the pandemic has completely knocked our business over, Luca and I are so fortunate that our friends and family have all remained safe and well. And particularly so when so many of our family, friends and colleagues live in Italy where the pandemic has been so much worse.

While our tours have been suspended in 2020, Luca and I have turned our attention to a new initiative, that we hope will go some way towards easing your ‘homesickness’ for all things Italian, as well as supporting some of the Italian artisan producers who are missing us as much as we are missing them.

Over many years of taking travellers to Italy we’ve built close relationships with local people who produce specialised products including oils and vinegars, distinctive Venetian glass jewellery, handmade olive oil cosmetics and beautifully patterned tableware and linens.

And so we have launched Origine Italiana, a small online boutique dedicated to beautiful things, all 100% made-in-Italy! We’ve started with a small but gorgeous range of Italian gifts and homewares: Florentine table cloths and tea towels, Venetian glass jewellery and a line of cosmetics for men and women, made in Tuscany.

If you’re still looking for Christmas gifts or would like to treat yourself, head across to our online store to browse the collection!

Shop Now!

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12 Oct PALAZZO SCHIFANOIA – A RENAISSANCE TREASURE IN FERRARA

Posted at 02:24h in Destinations, Travel Tips by Italian Tours

Article by Emanuela Mari.

After well over two years of renovations, the Great Hall of the Months in Ferrara’s Palazzo Schifanoia, one of the most extravagant and fascinating residences of the Italian Renaissance, has reopened to the public gaze. Borso d’Este commissioned a group of local artists to complete the celebrated fresco cycle that decorates its walls in 1469. The careful restoration, complemented by the new and much-improved lighting, has given it new life.

Borso d’Este was an illustrious member of Ferrara’s Este family, which ruled over the city for around 400 years from the 13th Century. He was very fond of sumptuous and magnificent displays of grandeur, which he used to great success to impress his subjects as well as neighbouring States. He wasn’t alone in this type of exercise: it was common in most Renaissance courts, where culture and shows of magnificence were often used as a political tool.

The fresco cycle of the months on the walls of Palazzo Schifanoia’s Great Hall is a result of these attitudes. The whole palace itself is a celebration of leisure and frivolous diversion as the name of the palace suggests — Schifanoia derives from the court’s use of the palace to avoid boredom (schifar la noia). It was also used to entertain and house foreign dignitaries and important guests.

The artwork is an enormous calendar that represents and glorifies the good acts and positive outcomes of Borso d’Este’s government. These are set out month-by-month and are depicted as being influenced and protected by the classical divinities and the stars according to the medieval astrological tradition.

The fresco portrays a loggia in the foreground with various scenes playing out behind it. The columns of the loggia frame the months, and each frame is divided horizontally into three sections. The top section portrays one of the classical divinities (on a triumphal float surrounded by followers and proteges). The middle is an astrological representation, with the sign of the Zodiac, surrounded by the three patrons of that month according to an Arabic reading of astrology and magic. The bottom section depicts scenes of Borso d’Este surrounded by his court, busy with the activities of government and court life, such as hunting with falcons.

Detail from the month of March by Francesco del Cossa – The Triumph of Minerva
Image by Sailko / CC BY-SA and found on Wikimedia Commons

The details of the frescos are so intricate and astounding that the meaning of some, especially in the middle section, are today shrouded in mystery. The fresco cycle, with its sophisticated and complex iconographic language, was conceived by the great Pellegrino Prisciani, Borso d’Este’s court intellectual. He was an important and influential figure in the cultural scene of the Ferrara court, an all-round humanist, well-versed in many disciplines, including astrology.

As for the artists and their work, they were a very talented group that created one of the most extraordinary works of art of the Renaissance. There is one artist in particular whose talent stands out from the rest. Francesco Del Cossa’s superior technique and exceptional artistic style make his contribution to the hall’s Eastern wall the most impressive. His work has survived the test of time much better than that of his colleagues.

Francesco Del Cossa is one of the most noteworthy, yet forgotten artists of the 15th Century. We know very little about his formative years. What we do know is that he worked between Ferrara and Bologna and that he was sought-after and much respected by his contemporaries and peers, including Michelangelo. So much so, that his work inspired an important school of followers.

As a final note, a warning to the prospective visitor. Unfortunately, not all of the fresco cycle has survived intact. If Del Cossa’s work on the Eastern wall (the months of March, April and May) is still in exceptional shape, and that of various masters (June to September) on the Northern wall is well maintained, the same cannot be said about much of the rest, where only faint traces of the old decorations remain. This is in part due to the ravages of time and partly because the fresco was painted over and forgotten for centuries.

In 1598, when the Este could not provide a direct line of succession, the Pope, who had granted the Este feudal rights to Ferrara, expelled them from the city and annexed it to the Papal States. Palazzo Schifanoia like the majority of the more than 50 leisure residences interspersed throughout the territory, fell into decay.

The Este’s expulsion brought to an end an era of fervid artistic activity and arguably the most prosperous period in Ferrara’s history. Their court was considered one of the most refined and progressive in all of Europe. They left the city of Ferrara a fantastic blueprint to their Ideal City they had cultivated for centuries, echoes of which are still evident today. The fresco cycle of the months in Palazzo Schifanoia is a magnificent example of this.

We visit Ferrara on our Undiscovered Riches – Discovering Emila Romagna tour, next scheduled for September 2021 and Emanuela will take us on a guided visit to the Palazzo Schifanoia.

Thank you to Emanuela Mari, local tour guide from Ferrara for contributing this article.

Emanuela fell in love with her city from a very early age — its art, history and culture were so intriguing that she decided to turn it into a career. She first completed a humanities degree (Lettere Moderne) at the University of Ferrara. She then undertook additional studies to become a licensed tour guide for the province.

She’s been working as a tour guide for more than twenty years and loves introducing her clients to Ferrara and its treasures. She speaks Italian, French and English fluently.

If you’re thinking of visiting Ferrara once this pandemic is over, you should definitely book a guided tour of Palazzo Schifanoia with her! You can contact her via her Facebook page, or of course, through us.

Detail from the month of April by Francesco del Cossa
Image by Sailko / CC BY-SA and found on Wikimedia Commons

Detail from the month of March by Francesco del Cossa
Image by Sailko / CC BY-SA and found on Wikimedia Commons

13 Nov THE MANY FACES OF LAKE MAGGIORE

Posted at 00:43h in Destinations, Travel Tips by Italian Tours

Secluded gardens, a magnificent waterfall, a monastery built into the cliff face – Lake Maggiore offers a lot more than the average day-tripper from Milan can see.

All the Italian lakes have beautiful private gardens on their shores. But just outside the town of Intra is a little known garden with links to Australian history. The Botanical Gardens of Villa Taranto were established by Captain Neil Boyd McEacharn, the son of a former Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Malcom Donald McEacharn and Maryanne Watson, daughter of Australian mining millionaire John Boyd Watson. A passionate Italophile, McEacharn spent the decade between 1931 and 1940 establishing this garden at his lakeside villa. Visitors wandering the garden’s seven kilometres of paths can enjoy 20000 plant varieties, and 300 different types of McEacharn’s greatest passion, his dahlias.

Not only are there secluded gardens around the lake, but following the Toce River up the Val Formazza to its source, one finds oneself in an area populated by a group of Italians whose elders still speak a dialect similar to High German, the language of the original settlers. At the top of the valley is the Cascata del Toce, the second largest waterfall in Europe. This waterfall is one of the most spectacular in the Alps, with a stunning freefall jet of water cascading to the rocks below.

Perched on a rocky ridge on the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore is the Hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso. Since the 1300s the monastery has been inhabited by members of the Dominican order but is today inhabited by a group of Benedictine oblates. Visitors must maintain silence but are welcome to walk the lovely balconies that overlook the lake and take in the very special atmosphere of the place.

There are other more famous tourist destinations on the lake, most notably the Borromean Islands, Isola Bella, Isola Madre and Isola dei Pescatori, with their justly famous gardens, buildings and vistas. From the Renaissance period they have all been owned and inhabited by members of the Borromean family. The most spectacular of these is Isola Bella, built in 1632 as a wedding present by Charles III for his wife Isabella, and containing Baroque gardens, grottoes and even white peacocks.

We stay on Lake Maggiore as part of our 14-day Milan and the Best of the Italian Lakes tour in May-June 2020 and on our 8-day Lakes Discovery tour in September 2020.

30 Jul The living gem that is Bergamo

Posted at 02:52h in Travel Tips by Italian Tours

Bergamo is one of our all-time favourite small Italian towns — a medieval hilltop borough bristling with towers and atmospheric buildings that are carefully protected and maintained, so that the visitor feels completely immersed in history.

The town is built on three ascending levels. The modern part of the town sits at the base of the hill, and is a thriving commercial centre with pleasant tree-lined streets, parks and gardens. The upper town, or città alta, is reached via a funicular that carries visitors to the medieval centre, the citadel at the top of the hill. Another funicular takes visitors to the third and highest level of the town, San Vigilio, so-called because of the castle that sits at its summit.

Before heading for the città alta, those interested in art galleries might want to spend time in the Museo Accademico di Carrara which is located just outside the Venetian walls that surround the mediaeval centre. It has an excellent collection of Renaissance and medieval paintings and fine art, and is an important regional museum.

The città alta is a wonderful area for walking, with narrow stone streets that lead through various piazze to offer delightful surprises for the casual wanderer.

The walls, originally built by the Venetians, have never been breached and are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Visitors can walk around, along and even within the walls.

However the undoubted highlight is the Palazzo della Ragione, a twelfth century building that was revamped in the 1500s to meet Venetian aesthetic standards — one of those standards being to make the civic building more important than the church! The Venetians created a new piazza, Piazza Vecchia, by demolishing a building, and then rebuilding the town hall so that it faced onto the new piazza and would be the first thing a visitor would see. They completed the new work with the installation of a charming fountain boasting a series of lovely lions.

The town contains a beautiful and intact religious precinct, with two magnificent churches sitting side by side. One is the duomo and one the basilica. The duomo of Bergamo, San Alessandro, is the principal Catholic Church of the city, built in the mid 1400s, while the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore was funded by local people in a show of wealth and importance in the 1100s. The Bergamaschi traditionally viewed the basilica as the more important church, so when one of the autocratic and powerful local lords had a section of that church demolished in the middle of the night to erect a mausoleum for himself, people were understandably outraged. However, the mausoleum remains and is considered one of the prettiest Renaissance structures in the city to this day.

We’ll be visiting Bergamo – and staying in a medieval tower hotel in the città alta – as part of our Milan and the Italian Lakes tour in May-June 2020.