Deep-dive

Identity: Città Alta, Venetian walls, the Campanone

The medieval core on the hill and the modern city below; the 16th-century walls of the Republic of Venice, since 2017 part of the UNESCO site of the Venetian works of defence; the Campanone that tolls a hundred times every evening at 10 pm; the Accademia Carrara, founded in 1796; a university born in Città Alta in 1968.

Sections: Geography · History · Population · Languages · Time zone · Public holidays

Upper and lower city

Bergamo's oldest part stands on the hill and is rich in medieval remains; the modern city spreads out below. The walls surrounding Città Alta were built from the mid-16th century, when Bergamo was part of the mainland dominions of the Republic of Venice, and have four city gates, including Porta San Giacomo and Porta Sant'Alessandro.

UNESCO heritage

Since 2017 the walls have been part of the UNESCO site «Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th Centuries: Stato da Terra – Western Stato da Mar», a serial site of six components in Italy, Croatia and Montenegro illustrating the bastioned «alla moderna» fortification that emerged after the arrival of gunpowder.

Symbols and institutions

On Piazza Vecchia every evening at 10 pm the Campanone, the Civic Tower, tolls a hundred times, recalling the closing of Città Alta's gates. The Accademia Carrara, founded in 1796 by Giacomo Carrara, is regarded as the museum of Italian collecting. The university began in 1968 as the Libero istituto universitario di Lingue e letterature straniere, in the Palazzo del Podestà on Piazza Vecchia.

Population

City figurePeriod: Jan 1, 2025Validsample unknown

Source: ISTAT – Popolazione residente: bilancio demografico (dataflow 22_315, DCIS_POPORESBIL1)

120,389people

Foreign residents, share of population

City figurePeriod: Jan 1, 2025Estimatesample unknown

Source: ISTAT – Stranieri residenti al 1° gennaio (dataflow 29_7, DCIS_POPSTRRES1)

16.1 %