Brilliant AddressesBrilliant Addresses / Italy / Fortress Cities
Italy

Bergamo

Città Alta
Fortress CitiesHeritage Gems
Portrait

Venice fortified the Città Alta in the sixteenth century with six kilometres of wall, demolishing 250 buildings including a cathedral to clear the ground, and then never had to use them — the walls are intact precisely because they were never tested. A funicular of 1887 climbs from the lower town, and the Colleoni chapel is the finest Renaissance work in Lombardy outside Milan.

Nearby in the atlas
Bellagio — The Pearl of the LakeMilan — Design DisciplineComo — Silk & Lake LightCremona — Where Violins Are Born
If you like this city
Fujian Tulou / Yongding, China — Rings of Rammed EarthGuimarães, Portugal — Portugal Was Born HereJodhpur, India — The Blue City
← All cities: Fortress Cities