In hill town of Bergamo, chimes and time to savor two millenniums

The fortified hilltop town of Bergamo floated in the blue-gray distance like a painted backdrop from a faded movie. We wondered how anyone could live in such a magical place, or if it really was a cinematic fantasy fashioned of plywood, canvas and 2-by-4s.

“It looks like the set from an old Errol Flynn movie,” my wife, Nancy, observed.

But people have occupied this northern Italian town on the edge of the Alps for more than 2,000 years, and Bergamo is a thriving community of 120,000, divided into the medieval walled Upper City (Citta Alta), and the more modern 19th century Lower City (Citta Bassa).

Foreign visitors rush to Rome, Florence and Venice but usually bypass Bergamo. We had done so before ourselves. But charming Bergamo is an easy day trip from Milan (only 30 miles northeast and linked with it by train and the A4 autostrada). Anyone staying in the Lake District or driving the Milan-Verona-Padua-Venice route also could drop by Bergamo for a day or two, since it sits just off the A4.

For our three-week stay last summer, we rented a one-bedroom apartment near the town of Alzano Lombardo. It was listed in a book called “Karen Brown’s Italy: Charming Bed & Breakfasts” by Nicole Franchini. We reserved a comfortable (although noisy because the farm dogs barked all night) lodging in what had once been the fortified stone tower of a 500-year-old farming estate, just three miles from Bergamo. From there we were able to wander to Bergamo nearly every other day.

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Bergamo was only a name on a map until Nancy’s Italian tutor, who had grown up in Sicily, told us about this beautiful, easily accessed hill town that is popular with Italian tourists. It was she who, over the kitchen table, scolded Nancy for accenting the second syllable. (“BER-gamo, madam, BER-gamo!” she said.)

Rising 200 feet above the Citta Bassa, the roughly oval-shaped Citta Alta extends a mile in one direction and half a mile in the other. Since only Upper-City residents have permission--and the nerve--to drive in the tangle of narrow streets, visitors either walk up or take the $1 funicular from Viale Vittorio Emanuele II. The walk is strenuous; the ride is fun. Behind lie the agricultural plains of the upper Po River Valley: flat, rich farming country much coveted by invaders throughout the centuries. Above and ahead, standing shoulder to shoulder, are ocher buildings with red-tile roofs. To the left and right stretch the gray city walls.

If any place needed fortified walls it was Bergamo, which was conquered and reconquered throughout its history. The Romans took it from the Gauls in 196 BC. In AD 49, the people of Bergamo were made Roman citizens. The Romans built a forum and an arena (both destroyed) and laid out the main streets. During the 350-plus years of Venetian rule (1428 to 1797), Bergamo was the most westerly fortified town in the Venetian republic.

During the 5th century, the city was attacked by Goths, Huns and Vandals, in turn. During the two decades from 1509 to 1529, Bergamo was conquered by the French twice and by the Spanish seven times, with the Venetians intervening militarily from time to time.

When the Venetians erected Bergamo’s fourth set of city walls in the 16th century, they tore down hundreds of homes but didn’t bother to compensate the owners. The people of Bergamo despised the Venetians throughout their rule, and locals still sound a little miffed.

We found the old city more inviting and seldom stopped long in Citta Bassa. It was pleasant but did not hold our interest.

Upon arriving at the top, we often stopped at the Cafe Carissimi inside the funicular terminus building. We would take our cappuccino and torta Donizetti (a pound cake) to a balcony table overlooking the Citta Bassa and the Po Valley beyond--at about $4 per person, well within our budget.

We then would follow the narrow streets for a few blocks to Bergamo’s star attraction, the Piazza Vecchia, noted for its medieval and Renaissance buildings, central fountain and open-air cafes. The square was our meeting place whenever we split up to explore on our own.

Whenever we heard bells, we could imagine the impact of that sound centuries ago when it announced that the city gates were closing. For a moment we could imagine the comfort that sound must have brought to medieval town-dwellers, as well as the fear it would have summoned in those still outside. Bergamo’s gates no longer close, but the curfew bells still peal at 10 each evening.

They chime from atop the Torre Civica, a 160-foot, 12th century tower that offers a glorious view of the city and the Piazza Vecchia below. The elevator was out of service each time we visited (this is not uncommon, we were told), but the climb was worth it for the sky-high views and photos of spires, towers and tiled roofs. Be prepared to cover your ears on the hour, when the bells brightly set the air in vibration.

(Entry to the tower for adults is $1.50. A five-minute walk from the funicular, the tower is open 9 a.m. to noon and 2 to 8 p.m.)

The adjacent Piazza del Duomo is the heart of the old Roman city. Here stands the magnificent Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, begun in 1137. Romanesque in structure, the cathedral was later redesigned, both inside and out, in Baroque style--not uncommon in Bergamo, where ancient buildings were continually revised. Children love to climb on the two lion statues out front, and the creature’s backs shine from centuries of squealing riders.

Guidebooks often refer to the attached 15th century Colleoni Chapel as a Renaissance jewel. The intricately detailed facade lends itself to hours of study, with its pilasters, sculptures, bas-reliefs, scenes from the celebrated military figure Bartolomeo Colleoni’s life, the Old Testament and the feats of Hercules. The inlaid marble facade embraces an exquisite rose window, and the ceiling frescoes are by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Colleoni built the chapel to house his remains.

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We liked being able to walk everywhere. Nothing is far from the Piazza Vecchia and its cafes. We often lost our way. But we always found a statue worth examining, or a quiet cobblestone path, or an ancient stone wall. Unfortunately, graffiti covers those stone walls today; a red hammer and sickle appears to be the current favorite. But political graffiti is another Bergamasque tradition, going back at least as far as the unpopular Venetian rule, when residents stole out after curfew to express their anger on the city walls.

When we did get lost, it was easy to regain our bearings from a dome or tower. The 12th century, 160-foot Gombito Tower on Via Gombito, for example, is visible from all directions. Powerful families erected flat-sided brick towers like this for protection and as a show of wealth. In 1206, the Gombito Tower survived a fire during battles between the supporters of the papacy (the Guelphs) and supporters of the Holy Roman Empire (the Ghibellines).

Although many people make their home in the Upper City, tourism dominates its commercial life. Today no one goes to the Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe (Shoe Market Square) to buy footwear, and certainly no one visits the Piazza Mercato del Fieno (Hay Market Square) for hay. But it is fun to buy ice-cream cones in the modern shops that inhabit the dimly lighted rooms where saddles were once sold, and to pick through fruit in tiny grocery stores that have served as such for centuries.

Via Gombito, the upper city’s main street since Roman times, is cobblestoned, narrow and inviting. It and its extensions lead from the funicular at one end of the city to the Citadel and its museums at the other. Shopkeepers along here are especially friendly, and the driving style is particularly free-form. Again and again we found ourselves pinned in doorways while red Fiats zipped past a little too close for comfort.

From Via Gombito we walked to a number of other attractions just minutes away.

La Rocca, a 14th century fort with a military museum, has a tower with a 360-degree view of the city and quiet grounds with benches, gravel paths and many shade trees. (It’s on Via Alla Rocca).

We also loved the Natural History Museum in the Citadel, with its displays of stuffed bears and reptile eggs, model of a mammoth and a variety of strange things pickled in jars.

Also in the Citadel, the Archeological Museum contains statues, coins and swords from the Roman era, as well as tools, pottery and jewelry from prehistory. Like the Natural History Museum, it is free and closes at noon for two hours and every Monday.

The nearby Carrara Gallery has portraits by Botticelli, Gentile Bellini and Lorenzo Lotto. (It’s located just outside the walls beyond the Agostino Gate.)

Or, at the northwest corner of the city walls, take a deep breath of the Botanical Gardens, a hilltop plot covered by scented plants, hollyhocks, rosemary, lavender, berry bushes and a lily pond. It also offers wonderful views of the old town’s steeples and towers.

Although the old city becomes crowded on weekends, if you arrive at the Piazza Vecchia early in the morning, you’ll find yourself alone with the permanent residents. Early shoppers go past with a long loaf of bread in one hand and a bag of oranges in the other. Some, on their way to work, stop for a cappuccino and a glance at the morning paper. But when the tower bells ring the hour (the office worker’s curfew), they hurry off to their jobs. You, on vacation, can shift your chair into the sun, order more coffee and just kick back and enjoy the sounds of the bells.

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GUIDEBOOK

Bergamo Basics

Getting there: Alitalia flies nonstop; American flies with one stop but no change of planes from LAX to Milan. Advance-purchase, round-trip fares start at $1,280.

Bergamo is 30 miles northeast of Milan, just off the A4 autostrada. Trains and buses run frequently from Milan, and the airport has service to major Italian cities.

Where to stay: Hotel Excelsior San Marco (Lower City), Piazzala Repubblica 6; tel. 011-39-35-366-111, fax 011-39-35-223-201. Rates: $150 to $200 per night, for a double, including breakfast.

Hotel Agnello d’Oro (Upper City), Via Gombito 22; tel. 011-39-35-249-883, fax 011-39-35-235-612. Rates: $75 per night for a double; breakfast, $6.50 per person. The 17th century hotel is tiny, narrow and neat.

Hotel Sole, Via Rivola 2 (Upper City); tel. 011-39-35-218238, fax 011-39-35-240011. Rates: $80 per night, for a double, $10 for breakfast. Cozy hotel, excellent location.

Where to eat: In the Lower City, La Ciotola, Viale Giovanni XXIII 86; lunches $15. (No phone number available.)

Caffetteria Corsarolo on Via Colleoni near the Piazza Vecchia for light fare; sandwiches $3 to $4. (No phone number available.)

Trattoria Bernabo at Via Colleoni 31 in the Upper City. Dinner only; full meal with wine runs $35 to $45. (No phone number available.)

For more information: Italian Government Tourist Board, 12400 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Los Angeles 90025; (310) 820-0098, fax (310) 820-6357.