Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to approximately 117,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan. The foothills of the Alps begin immediately north of the town. Bergamo occupies the site of the ancient town of Bergomum, founded as a settlement of the Celtic tribe of Cenomani. In 49 BC it became a Roman municipality, containing circa 10,000 inhabitants at its peak. An important hub on the military road between Friuli and Raetia, it was destroyed by Attila in the 5th century.

The town has two centres: "Città alta" - the upper city, a hilltop medieval town, surrounded by 17th century cyclopic defensive walls, and the "Città bassa" - the lower city. The two parts of the town are connected by funicular/cable car, roads, and foot-paths - the most convenient being immediately adjacent to the funicular station. Parking spaces are always very limited in the upper city.

The upper city, surrounded by Venetian walls built in the 17th century, forms the historic centre of Bergamo. Città Alta is an extremely expensive place to live in, with properties being sold for a minimum of 2,000,000 euro. The lower city is the modern centre of Bergamo. At the end of the nineteenth century Città Bassa was composed of Borghi, the residential houses built along the main road that linked Bergamo with the other cities of Lombardy. After World War II and during the so called miracolo economico (economic boom) many residential buildings were constructed in the lower part of the city which are now divided into several neighborhoods such as Longuelo, Colognola, Malpensata and Boccaleone among many others. The shopping district developed shortly after, now commonly known as the street the shops are located on Via 20 Settembre.

www.comune.bergamo.it

Hotels in Bergamo