Bergamo

Cappella Colleoni

Bergamo is really two cities:  Citta Alta, the upper Medieval walled section, and Citta Basso, the modern lower section which surrounds it.  Bergamo came under the control of Venice from 1498 to 1797.  The Venetians built the 16th century walls around the upper city to protect it from possible attack by Milan.

We managed to spend four hours in Citta Alta and another three in Citta Basso before returning to our hotel at 6 pm for a well-earned rest. We began the day by taking the funicular up to the popular upper city and strolled the narrow streets lined with shops, took in views of the surrounding countryside and hazy mountains, and tried to visit the Botanical Garden which was closed for lunch.  

Lorenzo Lotto's Portrait of a Young Man

At 3 we walked down to the recently renovated Accademia Carrera for 90 minutes of art immersion.  The Museum was founded by three private individuals including Count Giacomo Carrera whose collection formed the heart of the 1810 building.  The current collection is nearly all Italian artists and mainly Renaissance to1800. Many variations of the Madonna and Child.

Following our two hours of rest (and Rob cursing at "inscrutable websites" as he tried to pay some bills online), in the evening we decided to check out some local noisy activity. Turns out that there were several street events that more-or-less filled the entire, large pedestrian zone to our south, competing with each other to have the loudest music. We bought our cups of beer and wine and sought silence, finally finding it only when we returned to our room.

Today for the first time on this trip we didn't ride the bike at all. Instead we walked and walked and walked ... Not sure which I prefer, but it was a great day.