Città Alta (Upper Town)
At ten o'clock every evening, a bell tower above Bergamo counts out one hundred chimes — the old signal that the gates of Città Alta are closing. The gates no longer close to anyone, but the Campanone still rings, and that nightly ritual tells you something about this place: it has always kept its own time.
Città Alta sits on a limestone ridge above the Lombard plain, ringed by six kilometres of Venetian walls that took nearly three decades to build and were never once breached. The streets inside are narrow, the stone is pale, and the whole upper town is compact enough to walk end to end in an afternoon — though most people find reasons to stay longer.
💛 What travellers fall for
Regulars learn to arrive early or late. Midday in summer the main piazza fills up; mornings belong to locals. The funicular from Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe drops you at the southern edge — from there, walk north and let the streets pull you. The ten-minute stair climb up from Città Bassa is steep but earns you a better entrance.
The story behind Città Alta (Upper Town)
Celts settled the ridge first, then Romans formalised it as the municipium of Bergomum in 49 BC. Lombards arrived in the 6th century, Franks in the 9th. The city passed through Visconti hands — the Rocca di Bergamo was begun in 1331 under William of Castelbarco and later completed by Azzone Visconti, and the Cittadella Viscontea followed in the same century — before Venice absorbed it in 1428, making Bergamo the westernmost point of the lagoon republic's mainland empire.
The Venetians left their most visible mark between 1561 and 1588, raising the massive ring of walls with fourteen bastions and four gates that still define the upper town's outline. On 9 July 2017, those fortifications were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site — part of a broader recognition of Venetian defensive works across the Mediterranean.
Good to know
The funicular from Città Bassa runs every seven minutes and costs around €1.50 one way; a 24-hour pass at roughly €5 covers unlimited buses and both funiculars. Churches follow split hours — typically 9am–noon and 3–6pm — and are free to enter. The Bergamo Card (€10 for 24 hours) pays off only if you plan to visit several museums.
Spring and early autumn are the most comfortable seasons for walking the walls and the streets — mild temperatures, longer light. Summer brings heat and more visitors; winter mornings can be cold and damp, but the ridge often sits above the valley fog that blankets Città Bassa, leaving the upper town in clear air while the plain disappears below.
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What travellers say about Città Alta (Upper Town)
Such a lovely store and a wonderful owner thank you very much for the gift I would 100% recommend even just coming up to look around
Grazie mille 🫰🏻 the girls Julia and Marina very kind and cute! Amazing vintage stuff 🩷
Really cute vintage shop in Bergamo that I would definetly recommend for everyone who searches for vintage clothes by famous brands (Levi's, Nike, Adidas, Puma, Calvin Klein,...) The owner was very helpful and super kind. In my opinion the prices there are worth it. They sell very well-selected pieces and sometimes even modified them (adding an elastic belt in the trousers so that it fits better). I also liked that the owner advised me very well. She spent a lot of time on helping me and always proposed clothes that fit well.
Marina was so lovely, made friendly conversation and complemented my outfit. She helped me pick out the perfect jacket from a great selection of vintage clothes, I can’t recommend this place enough.
Visited the shop today! It's a small one, located in Città Alta in Bergamo, but has quite some options for everybody. Personally I was very interested in the different jewleries and patches and purchased some. Happy to find this one :)
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