Bergamo Local Customs

The Bergamask must have an eye for little details!
When I was gazing around on my first day of walking through the city, it was not only the charming colours and red roofs that caught my eyes, but also how they paid attention to even little details as the chimneys.
I think this house had one of the most beautiful and many that I had laid my eyes on.

As in many catholic countries it is not uncommon to take your kids to the church or in this case the Basilica for a visit.

One of the most favourite things to do, as I can remember from my own childhood as well, is when you are allowed to burn a candle.

No different with the kids on the picture who visited and were very eager to lit theirs and make a little prayer or wish.

Especially on Whitsunday, in Belgian a catholic holiday, I expected everything to be closed in Italy as well.
But that was not the case. What I did notices where many groups of school kids visiting the city with their teachers. Bergamo seemed to be one of the favourite destinations for these school trips that were not only just for fun, but also to learn about the city. The kids had paper and pen with them and listening and taking notes when their teacher was pointing to a building or statue and give them explications.

I wonder which one of these kids might decide to go into tourism and will become a guide some day in this beautiful city `-)

If you walk down the Via Porta Dipinta (on my last day I walked up this street with 15 kilo’s of luggage on my back!) you will pass this large arch fountain.
It looks like there once was a door. In fact there was before it was frescoed during the Renaissance times. It used to be a “porta” through the medieval walls.
The name Via Porta Dipinta derives from it.

Arlecchino is one of the most popular masks of the Comedy of Art. He was born in Bergamo (in the Brembo valley, at Oneta) and soon moved to Venice. He was poor and wore a dress made of colourful cloths stitched together. Arlecchino is naive and simpleton but cunning, embodying the countryside illiterate.

You say 'Bergamo' and the Italians think of 'polenta', the grinded corn flour boiled in water and cooked for more than one hour in special copper pans.
And, to get the real polenta alla bergamasca, you need the special flour obtained by grinding the local corn with special stone mills and at low temperatures. The flour can be white or yellow (most common): remember that the polenta made with yellow flour is suitable for meat and cheeses while the white one is perfect for matching the fish.

Our salame ('salami' is just plural of salame in italian) has a special flavour and it's softer if compared to the other types around Italy. That's due to the fact that it's made of fresh pork meat. Its special flavour is given by the addition of black pepper, red wine, spices and fresh grinded garlic.

This cheese is a local production from the Brembo Valley (the left of the two main valleys that converge in Bergamo). It's taken from the cow's milk. It's quite pricey because few farmers still know how to make it. That's due to the fact that the Strachitund is made of two different milks - the one taken and prepared in the evening and the morning one. This cheese is made of stripes pressed together.