If Bergamo was a question on the quiz show Pointless, the most popular answer would probably be “There’s a Ryanair airport there”. The next might be “There’s a successful football team there”. But one answer that’s definitely not pointless is “There is a stunningly beautiful city there”.
It’s a city in two parts. The older part (Città Alta) is high in the hills and the more modern part where we were staying (Città Bassa) is down on the plain and both are well worth visiting.
Our first full day coincided with Liberation Day, a National holiday that celebrates the defeat of the Nazis and Italian fascists 80 years ago. That meant that the city was really busy and we were lucky enough to come across the official ceremony as well as some demonstrations.
We had planned to take the funicular up to the Città Alta but found the downside of a public holiday weekend – the massive queue! We climbed the steps instead and strode around the city walls to a second funicular that took us up to the Castle San Vigilio, the highest point in Bergamo. The views from there and the Città Alta were spectacular and we could pick out the Alps and Milan in the distance.
We had a spot of lunch in the square beside the campanella bell tower. There’s nothing quite like sitting in an Italian piazza, eating salad and pizza, drinking beer and just watching people. We couldn’t help but notice how well dressed all the other diners were. By contrast, we were in t-shirts and shorts with baseball caps: everyone else was showing off their hairdos.
Bergamo is a musical place. We heard some live music during our lunch and found there a was folk band in the square with lots of space for people to dance. In true Cèilidh tradition, many people seemed confused as to the next steps – it looked like a cross between a Canadian Barn Dance and a Gay Gordons but everyone enjoyed it just the same.
We also came across some street singing. Presumably the choir master let them practise outside because it was such a nice day, like back in primary school! Even the Italian dogs bark a lot more than they do at home, perhaps because their owners like to talk so much. And wherever you go here, you can always hear the church bells.
Speaking of churches, there are plenty of them, ready to impress you with their intricacies and splendour.
If you haven’t heard of the International Greeter Association (IGA), it’s a worldwide organisation that offers free walks with locals: it’s not a substitute for an organised tour, you’re simply spending time with someone who is sharing their take on their city. We had arranged for Dino to take us on a walking tour of his Milan and we got to see things that we would never have come across otherwise.
Dino was there to meet us near the UniCredit Tower, the tallest building in Italy (though without its spire it would only be eighth! 😉). This skyscraper overlooks the Parco Biblioteca degli Alberi Milano, a contemporary landscaped garden which is a “library” for all kinds of plants and has areas for people to relax, picnic and exercise and even has a small maze for toddlers. The outstanding feature of this newly regenerated area, however, is the Bosco Verticale, the vertical forest, two skyscrapers which are covered in trees and shrubs. When you move next to it and look up it looks like you are in a woodland canopy.
Dino brought us to a temporary art installation in the courtyard of the Academy of Fine Arts called the Library of Light. It was slightly surreal, standing on a rotating platform in this charming 17th century courtyard while the shelves recited quotes from a digital ticker tape as we circled a statue of an almost naked Napoleon. Perhaps no more unexpected than finding a lifesize replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper in a bank but that’s the joy of a walk with a greeter. Incidentally, a “greeter” has a different meaning in Scotland but that’s another story. We finished up at the Duomo, of course.
We thought we’d do some more travelling in the region and an incredibly helpful ticket office lady told us about the Io Viaggio Ovunque in Lombardia (IVOL), “I travel everywhere in Lombardy” ticket. It cost us €17.50 each for the day and included all public transport in the region.
We didn’t have a plan for once, just to go wandering. When we went to Brescia, there was an upcoming train to Iseo so we went there next. Then we went on to Sulzano to catch the ferry to Monte Isola. As soon as we got off the ferry, a minibus turned up so we jumped on that as it took us around the island and back again. The streets were so narrow that all the passengers almost had to breathe in while the bus barely squeezed through.
We had lunch beside a different ferry jetty and a boat turned up as we finished so we went directly back to Iseo. We explored the town accompanied by massive ice creams and, on the way back to Brescia, we checked the timetables and calculated that we had four minutes to catch the Bergamo train. We were first out of the front carriage and ran like the taxman was after us and only just made our connection. Surely if retirement means anything, it means not having to run for the train!
We picked up a car to drive to Como – they gave us an upgrade but these upgrades aren’t always a good thing as the Jeep was a bit of a beast. We had plenty of time to get there so we picked a route to loop us over the top of the lake and nearer to the Alps. The mountains and the lake were beautiful, with some snow on the peaks, ample reward for all of Mhairi’s driving.
It was another bank holiday weekend (Labour Day) and the western stretch was particularly slow going through all the small towns. It took us an hour to get 25km! That’s why we didn’t botter to pop in to see George Clooney in his luxury villa in Soldino. We’ll catch him next time.
I’d worked out what I thought was a good itinerary for our first full day in Como. Walk into the town and take to the funicular up to small hill town of Brunate; walk around there and take some photos and have a picnic we’d prepared in the morning. Then take the funicular back down to the ferry terminal and take the boat back to where we lived.
The first part was perfect. A lovely, interesting walk around the bay. That’s when it fell apart. The queue for the funicular was longer than a catholic wedding. We felt sorry for the young family at the back of it who had hardly made any progress during the time we took to finish our picnic in a park by the lake. They probably had another hour to wait and it’s no wonder those wee children looked fed up. We’d also noticed the queue for ferry tickets – some sailings were sold out already – so that was a non-starter too unfortunately. Burns was spot on about schemes ganging aft agley.
We thought we’d have another go at heading up the mountain on the following morning, this time by car. We had thought the road would be okay as the hill town seemed a decent size but hadn’t planned for the narrowness of the streets, speed of the locals or lack of parking. Sensibly, Mhairi turned the Jeep around and we accepted our fate.
If you’re thinking of an Italian break sometime, Bergamo is a great shout. It’s easy to get to and has cheap flights. There is plenty to do and Milan and the beauty of Lombardy are nearby. It’s part alpine city and it must look glorious in the winter too when the skating rinks are open and everything is covered in snow, if you’re misguided enough to like that sort of thing.
We’ve finally brought the blog up to date! And we can sit back for a bit as we have another guest blogger, Meadhbh, who has agreed to do Florence. Thank you Meadhbh!! 🙌
It's a wanderful life, so it is 
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