Pope John XXIII

Pope John XXIII, better known as the Good Pope or pontiff of the Second Vatican Council, is most certainly the world’s best known person from Bergamo, judging by the uninterrupted flow of visitors who travel to Sotto il Monte to discover the place where he was born. Here you can visit the house where the great Pope was born, the church where he was baptised and a museum. Other places dear to him that are also worth visiting include Fontanella Abbey, which is reached by a short walk through fields and vineyards.

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Caravaggio

Another internationally famous person from Bergamo is Caravaggio, the author of extraordinary paintings that revolutionised art history. Unfortunately not a single piece of work by Michelangelo Merisi has been preserved in his place of birth and there are no traces of his first few years of life. Recently the few bones found in Porto Ercole, where he died, were brought here, but they have since been returned.

Colleoni

There are many reminders, instead, of the “condottiere” Bartolomeo Colleoni, who was also commander of Venice’s armies. Solza, on the Bergamask plain, is home to the Malpaga Castle, Colleoni’s birthplace. Colleoni transformed this castle into a powerful bastion to defend the border of the State of Milan and later into a splendid residence when he left the army. But it is in Bergamo, in the heart of the old hilltop city, that his tomb is found. Better known as the Colleoni Chapel, it was also the final resting place of his daughter Medea, who lies alongside him. The Chapel is one of the finest and most celebrated works of the Renaissance in Lombardy. The house that the “condottiere” turned into his home stands a short distance away, along the old road known as “Corsarola” and now dedicated to Bartolomeo Colleoni.

Gaetano Donizetti

There are also many numerous reminders of Gaetano Donizetti, famous bergamask composer. The hilltop city offers the perfect itinerary for getting to know this great musician and composer of enduring melodies, including the house where he was born in Borgo Canale and the museum in Via Arena. In this very beautiful road you can find the Donizetti Museum. His tomb is however housed in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The building where he spent the last few days of his life can be found not far away, in Via Donizetti. Don’t forget to visit the magnificent theatre in the heart of lower Bergamo, on the Sentierone, which is dedicated to Gaetano Donizetti.

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The Tasso family

There are also many famous personalities born in the Bergamask valleys, including the Tasso family, who came from the beautiful medieval village of Cornello in the Brembana Valley. Torquato Tasso was part of this family, while another branch of the family gave rise to postal messengers who were considered the founders of the modern postal system.

Artisti a Bergamo

The Baschenis family of well known painters also had its roots in the Brembana Valley. The architect Giacomo Quarenghi, who the Tsarina of Russia, Catherine the Great, called to St. Petersburg to build splendid buildings that are today a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was born in the nearby Imagna Valley.

The inventor of GSM was born in Bergamo

Bergamo Province can also boast a Nobel prize winner: the scientist Andrea Viterbi, who is considered the “father” of the GSM.

Lorenzo Lotto a Bergamo

There were multiple relations between the Veneto artist and the city of Bergamo. It is not only the memory of a long stay, which began in 1513 with the Altar Piece of St. Bartholomew and ended in 1525 in the Stories of Mary in St. Michael at the White Well, with the ideal extension of the commitments taken for the intarsia of the choir of Santa Maria Maggiore

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Manzù and Bergamo

In order to learn more about the close relationship between Giacomo Manzù and Bergamo you must make your way to the Sentierone, the wide promenade in the heart of lower Bergamo and favourite meeting place of the local people

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