The Walls of Bergamo

Province of Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy

The Walls of Bergamo, Lombardy

In the 16th century the Venetians built megalithic walls around the citadel of Bergamo, called today Bergamo Alta. From the walls there is a wonderful view of the "Città Bassa", the wide plains as far as the airport of Orio al Serio, and all around the walls a colourful patchwork of cultivated fields, gardens and orchards.

How to reach it: By car: take A4, exit Bergamo. By train, from Milan. By plane, the nearest airport is Orio al Serio, where car rental is easily available.

Visiting hours: escorted tours to the underground are organised by the local speleological group, Gruppo Speleologico Bergamasco Le Nottole -- Official website: www.nottole.it

The city of Bergamo

HISTORY: The original fortification were already placed in Roman times. When in 1428 the Republic of Venice occupied Bergamo, the walls where in ruins. In the following century the Venetian Senate decided to rebuild the Walls, erecting also the fortress of San Marco, but demolishing whole sections of the medieval city. The mighty walls, designed to resist artillery and bombings, were never used in war. In the 19th century on top of the walls a walking itinerary was implemented, and they became and still are a place where the population enjoy to relax in the evenings.
The Walls of Bergamo, Lombardy
DESCRIPTION: Everything started in 1973, when a kid disappeared near the Porta di San Giacomo in what seemed the entrance of a cave. Local speleological group "le Nottole" rescued the boy, and discovered a whole world of tunnels and locals under the walls, consisting not only of the military premises of the 16th century fortifications, but of Roman aqueducts, secret passages connected to important places, and a huge underground cistern collecting the waters of the springs of the Lantro River, called today "Fontana del Lantro". The explorations continue at present, also encouraged by the legend of a hidden caveau where the Venetians kept their treasures.