Beautiful Bergamo

Yesterday Edoardo, my lovely guide (and former graduate student applicant), took the day off to show me his hometown of Bergamo, Italy.

About an hour away from Milan is this beautiful province buzzing with life. Bergamo is unique in that there are two parts - Citta Bassa (the low or "base" city) and Citta Alta (High City). From Citta Alta, you can see the entire region of Lombardy plus the mountains of Switzerland. 

Once protected by high walls which are still there today, Citta Alta was the pride of the region and represented by a lion for its strength and wealth. Today it's a less popular tourist attraction, which makes it all the more attractive to me. 

Citta' Alta, Bergamo, Italia

The walls that surrounded the city only had three doors, which closed each night at exactly 10:00pm. The bell tower would ring to let people know that the time was approaching, and on the 100th chime the doors would close. The tower still works today and brings you back a few hundred years when you hear it. 

The view at night is entirely enchanting.

Ciao,
Monica