Bergamo Off The Beaten Path

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CITTA BASSA

One for Trivia fans - Harlequin originated in Bergamo! (Although the French argue that Arlequin is from France)!

This statue caught my eye , while wandering around the Christmas Market in Piazzale Alpini next to the Tourist Information office- Although I'd been to Bergamo a few times, I hadn't noticed this before. An amusing modern sculpture of brass and coloured enamelled? squares on a marble plinth, with this inscription in 3 languages - Italian, English and I'm guessing Bergamasque

"They call me Harlequin I'm a little mischievious and cunning Near Bergamo I was born, Throughout the world I'm known"

Typically, Bergamo isn't awash with Harlequin references, well not that I've spotted yet!

Recognised by his colourful patched costume, Harlequin is the most popular of the characters in the Italian Commedia dell'arte. He's a 2nd man-servant, always hungry, having no money, but surviving by his wit and character, to 'get one over' on those who look down on him, and treat him as an idiot. He's portrayed with acrobatic and dance like movements, which would seem to be at odds with accusations that he's slow and stupid.
A felt hat with a hares tail, belt with a polenta spoon, large flat unshod feet, a shaved head, with a bump on his forehead and a sooty face (or half mask) complete his costume. Fun is also made of the distinctive Bergamo dialect.

The Brighella (the hood winking first servant) also originated in Bergamo, but in Upper Alta, and not 'the stinking stagnant marshes of lower Bergamo'(thought to be Borgo Canale) where Harlequin lived (having been born in the nearby valleys, but being lured to the lower town by the chance to work - probably more like heavy labour). Harlequin and Brighella are known as the Two Zanis.

The first mention of Harlequin is of one Alberto Naselli from Bergamo in 1572. The first pictorial evidence is from a painting by Porous the Elder in 1570.

Click here for more about Harlequin and The Commedia dell'arte

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Looking at the Basillica Santa Maria Maggiores, architecture, it might be easy to miss these simple metal bars fixed onto the wall (walk to the left of the doorway with the Lions) and follow the wall - you'll soon find these iron bars, of different lengths, that are old measuring devices. They date back to the Middle Ages.

If you look closely, you can see writing and marks (pic 2) on the bars.

The Piazza Duomo was once Bergamos Commercial Centre.

Luigi Angelini, an historian, specialising in Ancient Bergamo, discovered that grooves cut into the sandstone of the Basilica, corresponded to the ancient measures, used in Bergamo during Medieval times.
As the settlement was an important trading centre, these measures were most likely used by cloth and textile merchants, who are thought to have traded in the Mercato delle Scarpe, before it became the shoemakers square.

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Citta Alta
From Piazza Mercata delle Scarpe (The square outside the funicular station) Via Rocca is the narrow street to the right, just before Via Gombito begins. This street leads to the fortress of Rocca.

Take a look at the medieval houses on the right hand side of the street - You'll see that there are blocked in/walled up openings next to the main door.
These are known as 'The Walls of the Dead' They were only opened up on the day of the funeral of the family member who'd lived there, so that the coffin could be passed through! This could be the origin of the phrase "At Deaths Door"
Apparently, behind these doors are steep, straight staircases leading to the upper floor.

There is some thought that these were also opened up to allow a brides chest to exit the house - this was considered to be the most important piece of furniture, and was usually kept for safety on the upper floor.

I'm still not sure why these couldn't pass through the (wider) door - I'm guessing superstition has a part to play here?

These houses are inhabited by members of MIA - a charity association that was founded in 1265 by Pinamonte da Brembate.

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Again, I only wandered here because I was seeking suitable restaurants.

It's the furthest 'borgo' I explored from Citta Alta and, logically, thus contains fewer buildings of historical interest for me. But even so I found it fascinating.

Lots of little bars, cafes and restaurants and 'ordinary' shops. Friendly people too: I got chatting (of a sort..she had no English and my Italian is poor) with a Ukrainian lady who told me she had visited Bergamo for a year and ended up staying for 10!

I bought a cake or two, and some rolls, from a lovely bakery/pasticcheria...the owner who served me was also very friendly and pleasant.

As with Borgo Santa Catarina I really just followed the main road...Via Borgo Palazzo..rather than explore the side-streets.

Borgo Palazzo seemed to me very much like an ordinary area with ordinary people. I'd like to explore more next time, even if the historical interest is less than elsewhere in Bergamo.

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I wandered around S Catarina whilst researching potential restaurants. I wasn't expecting much of interest (although the woman at the tourist Office has told me it was 'a nice area') and so was pleasantly surprised.

I started by following the Via Della Noca, a cobbled and gently stepped 'scaletta' leading dwon from Porta Sant Agostino. From there I followed the Via Borgo Santa Catarina.

Again, it is a living neighbourhood with ordinary shops, lots of small cafes and restaurants and bars, lots of ordinary people living ordinary lives.

And, in the parts nearest to the Citta Alta, yet again evidence of the past. Perhaps not as many Medieval buildings as in Pignolo and Canale, but there were some...and there were many more of interest from the 1600s, 1700s and 1800s.

I didn't find the suitable restaurant I was seeking but I did enjoy my wanderings. It's a part of Bergamo Bassa to which I will return; I spotted some interesting small restaurants in the area! :-)

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Borgo Canale is, I think, also one of the first 'extensions' of Citta Alta. in fact I suspect it is older than Borgo Pignolo. You access it from Largo Colle Aperto, walking through the Porta San'Alessandro and onward past the San Virgilio funicular station.

I didn't explore the area great deal, merely wandering through on my way to finding the Vicolo del Paradiso. But I found much of historical and architectural interest, including faded frescoes on building exteriors, the neighbourhood washing area and the tiny and ancient church of Sant Erasmo. Lovely views too, both across the plain and the nearby hills.

The church is first mentioned in 1356, though it is almost certainly much older. I visited on the saint's day, so the church exterior was decorated with banners and hangings. Look at photo and the the row of houses adjoining the church...I suspect they are almost equally old.

Well worth wandering around the narrow lanes of Borgo Canale, I think, and then taking the vicoli and scaletti back down to Citta Bassa.

This time I took the Vicolo del Paradiso (because of its name!) but next time I shall follow Via Fontanabrolo from its start on Via Trei Armi to its junction with Vicolo Degli Ortolani (a scalletta) and then onwards down Via Dello Statuto and back into the centre of Citta Bassa.

Yes, Borgo Canale is definitely worth a proper exploration!

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Via Pignolo was the main route to Citta Alta in Medieval times, so it is hardly surprising that some of its buildings are ancient.

The church of Santo Spirito dates from the 1300s. It caught my eye immediately not only because of the huge mish-mash of building styles so very evident on its facade but also for the huge modern sculpture on its exterior. This sculpture, by Francesco Somaini and dating from 1971, represents the descent of the Holy Spirit.

The church was originally attached to a convent. In 1475 the facade was changed in the name rebuilt and enlarged in the mid-1500s. but the facade was never comp[letely finished, which is why you can still see traces of the church's previous incarnations.

I could not go inside as a mass was in progress, but the church is open on weekdays from 0800-100 and from 1500-1830. On Sundays it is open 0830-1130 and 1530-1845.

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Originally most of the land surrounding Citta Alta was farmland, with peasants working the fields and bringing their goods to market in the town using the vicoli and scaletti.

Bur eventually and inevitably Citta Alta began to expand outside its walls. One of the first areas for this expansion is Borgo Pignolo ('borgo' meaning neighbourhood), near to the Porta Sant Agostino.

Walking down (or up, if you are feeling energetic!) Via Pignolo will give you a real feel for what this are might once have been like. You'll pass the 14th-century (originally) church of Santo Spirito (there was a mass in progress when I wandered by, so I didn't get chance to explore inside) on Piazza San Sprito.

Then wander along the narrow, winding Via Pignolo which still feels as atmospheric as it might once have done. Spot the clues to the age of buildings as you go... there are many 'palazzi' of the 1600s and 1700s (mostly now apartments) but also buildings which clearly have much older foundations. Check the windows, check the entrance archways (some now blocked up), check the balconies.

If you have time, wander some of the side-streets as well. Small cafes and bars, people living their everyday ordinary lives.

Next time I visit I shall spend more time exploring this area of Citta Bassa: I think it will fully repay me for the time I spend.