Two cities in one — the funicular to the walled Città Alta, Venetian ramparts, and polenta country.
Explore → Get Early AccessClear Alps views from the walls
Città Alta deserves the hours
Frequent trains; funicular up to the old city
And casoncelli — Bergamo eats seriously
Bergamo stacks two cities: a modern lower town and, up the funicular, the walled Città Alta — Renaissance squares, a jewel-box basilica, and views to the Alps. Milan's airport is named for it; most passengers never look up.
A Venetian frontier fortress for centuries, Bergamo got the massive walls (now UNESCO-listed) that never saw a siege, plus the lion of St. Mark on its gates — Venice's westernmost great outpost.
Composer Gaetano Donizetti and the commedia dell'arte's Harlequin both come from Bergamo, and casoncelli — its stuffed pasta — outrank any airport meal. The funicular connecting the two cities has run since 1887.
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