Bergamo

“ One can do a lot—" And there was Bergamo he wanted to show her; she would, he assured her, greatly love Bergamo; and certainly they would go to Pavia if only to see if the wistaria were still in flower.
Her eyes danced. The sight of the map and the time-table was enough. She hung over him eagerly, following his pointing finger as it moved over mountains and lakes. She was like a schoolboy watching the planning out of his first trip abroad. There was no room in her for any thoughts but thoughts of glee. The names were music to her—Locarno, Cannobio, Luino, Varese, Bergamo, Brescia, Venice. ”

“ Palazzuolo—Coccaglio—Brescia: new and old Cathedrals, Broletto—Churches—Donato—Desenzano—Lago di Garda—Riva—Trent—Verona.
OUR drive from Bergamo to Brescia was strikingly unlike what we had hitherto been so much enjoying. Mile after mile of straight roads, between fields so closely planted with fruit-trees that one never sees more than the merest glimpse of anything beyond them, are certainly not pleasant; and the hot sun above us, and the thirsty and dry beds of rivers which we crossed on our way, made us feel glad when evening drew on, and we found ourselves rapidly nearing Brescia. ”

“ Bergamo has fine modern buildings and numerous silk and cotton factories. It also has a considerable cattle market, though its yearly Fiera di S. Alessandro (the patron saint) has lost some of its importance. ”

“ The French lost upwards of 20,000 men, and their retreat was attended by great calamity and suffering.
Bereung. A description of Swedish militia, consisting of every man in the kingdom, from 20 to 25 years of age, capable of bearing arms.
Bergamo. A fortified city of Lombardy, Italy; captured by the French in 1698. During the height of the Venetian power, Bergamo was a dependency on its territory; under Napoleon, it was the capital of the department of Serio.
Bergedorf. A town of North Germany; it was taken from the Duke of Saxe-Lauenberg in 1736 by the cities of Hamburg and Lubeck ”

“ It is here, in fact, at Bergamo and at Brescia, that the late survival of a really convinced religious spirit becomes a striking fact in the history of Italian art. Vercelli and Novara, though famous for their mountain neighbourhood, enjoy but a distant and occasional view of Monte Rosa and its companions; and even then those awful stairways to tracts of airy sunlight may seem hardly real. But the beauty of the twin sub-alpine towns further eastward is shaped by the circumstance that mountain and plain meet almost in their streets, very effectively for all purposes of the picturesque. ”

“ BERGAMASCA—in the 'Midsummer Nights Dream,' a 'Bergomask.' An Italian dance, deriving its name from Bergamo, the well-known city of Tasso, Donizetti, and other eminent Italians. It is said to exist in old Italian suites de pièces. ”

“ Whoever is born in the territory of Milan, and would gain his living in that of Bergamo, must put up with it. As to the people here, they call a Milanese a simpleton as freely as they call a gentleman sir."
"They say so, I suppose, to those who will suffer it."
"My good fellow, if you are not disposed to submit to be called simpleton, till it becomes familiar to your taste, you must not expect to live in Bergamo. You would always be obliged to carry your knife in hand ”

“ Pavia asked it, as thou say'st, and so did Bergamo; yet do the twain who then appealed to me reign in either city now? The Bolognese are foolish," said Visconti.
Giannotto shrugged his shoulders. "That need not trouble thee, my lord. Bologna is a wealthy town. Thy lordship will think of it?"
The secretary's eyes were on the ground. Gian Galeazzo slipped his bracelet into his doublet and rose. ”

“ This is Italy; there are Milan, Monza, Bergamo, a hundred battle-fields from the Trebia to Magenta.
It is natural to compare the Grigna panorama with those from Monte Generoso and Monte San Primo. As a perfect view of the Lake of Como the Monte San Primo is unrivalled. The delicious dip from Monte Generoso on to Lugano perhaps surpasses in beauty the 126 wilder plunge of the Grigna upon the Lago di Lecco. But for the plain and the great range I unhesitatingly give the palm to the higher mountain.
The last spurs of the Alps are here singularly picturesque. ”

“ The joyous vitality of the Renaissance overflows in Amadeo and carries all his native characteristics to unrestrained excess. The Lombard love of pomp and gorgeous decoration runs to a riot of ornamentation in his reliefs, which are crowded and overloaded with rich and fertile fancies. Builder as well as sculptor, he sacrifices architectural effect without scruple for the sake of decorative detail, as the extraordinarily ornate façade of the Colleoni Chapel at Bergamo, one of his most famous works, testifies. This is a fault common to the Lombard architects. ”

“ Mark, and received his truncheon of office from [114] the hand of the Doge before the high altar of San Marco. At Bergamo we see his chapel, built by Amadeo, as a "monument of the warrior's puissance even in the grave." There also is the equestrian statue in gilded wood voted by the town of Bergamo, and, far more noteworthy, the beautiful tomb of his favorite daughter, Medea. But the great general's rightful monument is in Venice, where the "finest bronze equestrian statue in Italy, if we except the Marcus Aurelius of the Capital," was reared in his honour. ”

“ Beyond Introbbio we plunged into the Bergamasque ranges, perhaps to Englishmen the least known fragment of the central Alps. Owing to the absence at their head of any peaks high or inaccessible enough to attract ardent climbers, the two great trenches which open on to the plain near Bergamo have not, like the valleys of Monte Rosa, come in the way of the Alpine Club. And it is to its members that we owe almost entirely our introduction to out-of-the-way corners. Yet an Italian valley, among mountains rising at its head to nearly 10,000 feet, is at least worth looking at. ”

“ We had been delayed for more than half an hour by a mere worm, which had probably arrived with the clover; but when the automobile could fill her lungs again she started on at a great pace. We passed a wonderful old riverside town, that had one of the most remarkable churches we had seen yet; and by-and-by a fine city, set like a tiara on the forehead of a distant hill, seemed [Pg 217] to spring up, peer at us from its eminence, and then dip down out of sight among other hills which made a dark foreground against white mountains.
It was Bergamo ”

“ Compared with Bergamo, Brescia has the air of a smart and busy place; its streets are wider and better paved, and the smells which still greeted us were not quite so bad as there. The staple manufacture of the city seems to be that of copper vessels; shop after shop, indeed street after street, is full of coppersmiths’ shops; the men all sitting at work,{76} and keeping up a ceaseless din of hammering, in open shops, so that all the world may see them. ”

“ Bergamo boasts other specimens of him, and in particular in the two great altars of Santa Marta and of Santa Grata. There we meet with two noble pictures, each of which may boast [Pg 331] its separate admirers who prefer it to the other; and each displays an union of colours, at once so fresh, clear, and beautiful, that we are never weary of contemplating them. In both he has observed the same general composition; the Virgin being represented on high, crowned with a glory, while below her are seen the figures of several saints ”

“ People travel so much in these days that I am sure that it cannot be much of a task to get up there. One thing I am positive about is that the journey can be taken in absolute safety. I know some live-stock dealers who regularly make the trip from Bergamo to the mountains, and who will be able to tell me all about it. Since you are interested, I will see one of the men as soon as I go to Bergamo and I will let you know when I return. ”

“ Periodically many of the mountaineers migrate to the towns and neighbouring countries in search of work, and a proverb tells us that there is no country in the world “without sparrows or Bergamosks.” But though the natives of the hills of Bergamo furnish a numerous contingent of these migrants, they are outnumbered by Friulians, inhabitants of the shores of the Lago Maggiore, and Piemontese. ”

“ Fomented by secret emissaries from Rome, the movement grew and gathered head. Disturbances broke out everywhere 53in North Italy, and culminated in a meeting of envoys from five Communes—Brescia, Bergamo, Cremona, Mantua, Ferrara—with the delegates of Milan at a convent near Bergamo (1167) , and the formation of a defensive alliance, which was to become the famous Lombard League. The first thing resolved on by the allies was the rebuilding of Milan and the protection of the city from every foe until she should grow strong enough to defend herself. ”

“ Variety of scene is so congenial, that the first effect of changing the mountain-surrounded, solitary lake for the view of plain and village, and wide-spread landscape, raised my spirits to a very springtide of enjoyment. We were very merry as we drove along.
There is a fair at Bergamo; it has lasted three weeks, and the great bustle is over. We had been told that the inns are bad; I do not know whether we have found admission into the best, but I know we could scarcely anywhere find a worse. The 107look of the whole house is neglected and squalid ”

“ A quarrel between Milan and the Carrara of Padua enabled her to overthrow that family, to seize Padua, then, step by step, Vicenza and Verona, and to advance to the Adige (1405) . In 1427 and 1428, she wrested Brescia and Bergamo from the hands of Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, and after his death secured Crema (1454) . ”

“ There are historical works, however, which derive us from the family de'Gozze, extant at the present epoch in Ragusa, and original settlers of that venerable republic. The chronicles of Bergamo relate that the aforesaid Pezòlo de'Gozzi was a man of weight and substance in the district of Alzano, and that he won the gratitude of the most serene Republic of Venice for having imperilled his property and person against the Milanese in order to preserve that district for her invincible and clement rule. ”

“ Gabriele Rosa, of Bergamo, Lombardy, an author of note, furnished to the Review of Venice, (Revista Veneta) a couple of papers on this traveler, which appeared April 20 and 27, 1856, and were reprinted, at Bergamo, in 1861, under the title, “Of the Life and Writings of Constantine Beltrami of Bergamo, Discoverer of the Sources of the Mississippi;” (Della vita e degli scritti di Costantino Beltrami da Bergamo, scopritore delle fonti del Mississippi) —a pamphlet of 34 pages octavo. ”

“ Cucchi, of Bergamo, was one of the most excellent men the revolution gave to Italy. Handsome, young, and wealthy, he belonged to one of the first families in Lombardy. Guerzoni, Bossi, Adamoli, and many others, despising the tortures of the Inquisition, and all other dangers, directed the Roman insurrection, under the command of that intrepid Bergamasco.
The unhappy Roman people received with obedience the directions of those valiant youths, and asked to be supplied with arms. Arms in plenty had been sent down to the Volunteers from all parts of Italy ”

“ From Venice Bruno went to Padua, where some of the Dominican friars persuaded him to resume monas [Pg 169] tic costume, since it made travel easier and safer. Thence by way of Brescia and Milan he may be followed to Bergamo. At Milan he first heard of his future friend Sir Philip Sydney. From Bergamo he resolved to go to Lyons, but learning that he would find anything but welcome there he turned aside and crossed the Alps, arriving in Geneva in the Spring of 1579. ”

“ Cremona, Brescia, Mantua, and Bergamo joined together against the emperor. Encouraged by the pope and aided by the League, Milan was speedily rebuilt. Frederick, who had been engaged in conquering Rome with a view of placing an anti-pope on the throne of St. Peter, was glad, in 1167, to escape the combined dangers of Roman fever and the wrath of the towns and get back to Germany. The League was extended to include Verona, Piacenza, Parma, and eventually many other towns. ”

“ When he reached Brescia, he found that the Austrians had evacuated the town, though they still occupied the castle which frowns down upon it. This was the 23rd of March: Novara was fought and lost, Piedmont was powerless to come to the [Pg.143] assistance of the people she had commanded to rise. What was to be done? Plainly common sense suggested an honourable compromise with the Austrian commandant, by which he should be allowed to reoccupy the city on condition that no hair of the citizens' heads was touched. This is what Bergamo and the other towns did, nor are they to be blamed. ”

“ It is divided into eight provinces, Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Mantua, Milan, Pavia and Sondrio, and has an area of 9386 sq. m. Milan, the chief city, is the greatest railway centre of Italy; it is in direct communication not only with the other principal towns of Lombardy and the rest of Italy but also with the larger towns of France, Germany and Switzerland, being the nearest great town to the tunnels of the St Gothard and the Simplon. ”

“ It extends toward the north to Valtellina, to the west with Valsassina, and to the east with Seriana, like the latter being directed from north to south; and finally it ends in the open plain a few miles from Bergamo. It occupies about 774 square kilometres, and has a population of some 40,000 inhabitants. In its inferior part the river Brembo runs through a rather narrow depression, which at certain points is nothing but a defile, but it receives some important streams, such as Serina and Parina on the left, and Brembilla and Taleggio on the right. ”