Bergamo
Bergamo is a very old city. Traces of a protohistoric settlement, from between the sixth and the fifth century B.C., have been found.
The first inhabitants established the main characteristic of the city: half on the hill and half on flat land. To those who arrive from the plain, Bergamo appears first from a distance as a city on a hill (the root word berg means mountain)
This image first fascinated the great travelers of the past, like Stendhal, and today the same image draws the attention of people driving on the Milan-Venice highway. Bergamo appears suddenly, with its sequence of towers, bell towers and domes, against the intense green color of the Alps.

Located on the extreme edge of the Po Plain, Bergamo reveals its own true and genuine characteristics to those who climb up the hill and visit the tangled medieval little streets after crossing the modern center of the city. PiazzaVecchia appears, like an unexpected explosion of light. This Piazza is considered one of the most beautiful squares in Italy. Bernard Berenson and great architects such as Le Corbusier and Wright, fell in love with it. Berenson arrived here after following traces of Venetian artists in the Bergamo valleys who brought to the city the brightness of the lagoon. The relationship between Bergamo and Venice was very strong; for almost four centuries, Bergamo shared history, art and culture of the Venetian Republic.

When Venice decided in 1561 to start building the walls, it was a time of serious tension between Venice and Spain, which was ruling also the State of Milan. These walls represented more of a political than a strategic target; the powerful fortress of Bergamo was supposed to express the clear intentions of the Republic to protect itself against possible Spanish expansionary aims. At the same time, the walls represented a reassuring asset, because there was not sufficient space to keep an army large enough to carry out an attack. The walls are very well kept and one of the most important example of city walls of the sixteenth century.
independent news peacereporter