Italy 2018, part 1 (Bergamo)
Every time I decide to go to Italy, I can’t help but wonder why I don’t do this at least once a year. Namely, it is so beautiful, charming and seductive that I don’t think it is possible to ever have too much of it. On the other hand, Italy is the country which I have visited most often, some places even several times – thus, for instance, I saw the Sistine Chapel before the restoration (1984-1994), during the restoration, as well as when the restoration had been completed. My visits to Italy were mostly brief, from a day or two to a dozen days or so, and this was how I planned this trip as well – full 9 days. It helped that on the first day I had an early morning flight from Belgrade, while the return was late in the evening of the ninth day.
I got to this journey and itinerary by deciding finally to fulfil two long-time wishes with a single trip. Namely, for quite some time I wanted to visit Bergamo and Cinque Terre. Many years ago I heard that Bergamo was a very pretty place, while Cinque Terre became extremely popular in the recent years and I wanted to visit them, as well.
To start with, I flew to Milan and from there immediately transferred to Bergamo where I had booked three nights at a pensione.
Even before the trip, I agreed with Mauro (the Italian I had met in Vietnam), who lives very close to Bergamo, that we would meet once I got there. At the same time, it turned out that his girl-friend was from Bergamo and when I reached my pensione that happened to be located right at a small square with a couple of bars, I was just getting ready to contact Mauro when I saw him already there with his girl-friend. The meeting with Mauro was cordial as if we had known each other for years and I found Martina to be exceptionally nice at first sight. Since I was a little late on account of the crowds at the airport and Mauro and Martina had booked a table at a typical restaurant in the Upper Town in Bergamo, we had to hurry up in order for the restaurant’s kitchen not to close.
But, it didn’t and with laughter and different stories we managed to have a very nice meal. To start with, we had different salamis and prosciuttos from Bergamo and the environs, along with polenta which is apparently very common here. Mauro was afraid I would not like it, but as I like kačamak, the Serbian traditional version of polenta, very much and often eat it at home, I felt quite fine with the food selection. Then we also took Casoncelli alla bergamasca, which is in fact the Bergamese version of ravioli and it was really tasty, so I had a very nice lunch that day.
Afterwards we walked around the Upper Town and I truly enjoyed the beauties of Bergamo. On the other hand, when I’m with somebody, especially when I meet with somebody and we walk together, I can hardly concentrate on both, while it is very important for me to be focused on the people I am with. Bergamo is so beautiful that one cannot help seeing it anyway, but I left the “proper” sightseeing with a guidebook and photographing for some other time, when I visit it alone.
This way, with Martina and Mauro, I went to the bar-restaurant “La Marianna” which is said to be the place in which stracciatella, a type of Italian ice-cream, has been invented. Apparently, it came into being as a result of an error. Somebody broke a chocolate Easter egg and its pieces fell into the already prepared ice-cream, so they decided to leave the chocolate there and not throw the whole thing away, and … ta-da! They had just created a new type of ice-cream.
It doesn’t really matter if this story is true or not, the ice-cream in this place was excellent. After this break, we went down to the Lower Town and there Martina and Mauro escorted me to the pensione where I actually got a very nice flat instead of a room and then we finally parted.
I had a short rest and then I went for a walk around the Lower Town. The flat that I got was suitably located, at the end of a walking and commercial street, so I followed the street to go to the centre of the town and then farther to Via Pignolo in which there are a few interesting historic buildings. One of them is the Church of the Holy Spirit built in the 16th century. What sets it apart from the similar churches from that period is the sculpture made by Francesco Somaini in 1972 which adorns the front facade of the church.
Of course, along the way I took an opportunity to have an ice-cream again since the Italians are true masters for making this sweet. A large number of ice-cream parlours I came across during this trip advertise in their windows that they make “artisanal” ice-cream which should mean that it is not made of some powder manufactured at a factory, but of natural ingredients. I cannot say that I really know the ice-cream so well as to feel the difference, but it does not matter much to me – what I ate was cold, tasty, sweet and refreshing, just what an ice-cream is supposed to be. After the walk in this part of the town I headed back towards my flat. The sun was setting and it was nice to look at the Upper Town, as well as the parts of Bergamo I was passing through.
When I reached the square where my flat was, it was already crowded, for it turned out that this was one of the centres of the “night life” in Bergamo (Largo Nicoló Rezzara). A lot of young people with glasses in their hands were standing beside the bars and had good time, while I found a seat and had a beer. Since I had gotten up around 5 o’clock that morning, with this beer in me I soon started to slump and went to bed rather early. Like always, it is one thing when you are enjoying with your friends and when you are having good time, and quite another when you are trying to go to sleep while somebody else is enjoying with their friends close to you. This was what it was like that Saturday evening and the joyful voices from the bars resonated from the surrounding buildings creating a noise that bothered me. Luckily, I had my earplugs with me, since I would not be able to sleep with the chatter under my window and it was important that I do since I had very ambitious plans for the following morning.
That day I had another meeting close to the flat at 11 o’clock, but before that I wanted to go to the Upper Town and even farther to the Castle of San Vigilio which is located on a small elevation above the Upper Town.
In order to make sure I would be getting back to the Lower Town on time, I started early, but since it was Sunday morning I had an impression it was even earlier that it realistically was, since other than me and a few joggers there was nobody else out in the streets. I have to praise these people, not for jogging particularly early, but for jogging uphill and downhill. I live in a completely flat part of the city, very near a walking area along the Danube, so I found this to be very impressive. Way to go!
My own walking uphill went quite leisurely, since I often stopped in order to enjoy the nice views that were accentuated by the still low sun, as well as the absence of many visitors.
I entered the Upper Town through the San Giacomo Gate. Namely, the Upper Town in Bergamo is surrounded by ramparts that are in the UNESCO’s World Heritage List, as a part of the cultural property “Venetian Works of Defence" from between the 16th and 17th centuries. Namely, during this period, Venice built imposing fortifications in several locations in order to strengthen its defence. These fortifications go from Bergamo in the north and on land to Kotor (Montenegro) in the south and on the coast.
The fortification in Bergamo has four gates and the San Giacomo Gate is one of them. It was finished in 1593, while the stone bridge that leads to it was made in 1780.
Having entered the Upper Town, I followed the ramparts of the fortification, thus reaching the Sant’Alessandro Gate through which I actually went out of the Upper Town. Not far from this gate, there is the birth house of the famous Italian opera composer Gaetano Donizetti. His most famous pieces include Lucia di Lammermoor and Don Pasquale. However, I just continued uphill following a rather steep street which led directly towards San Vigilio.
Still, since I’m mentioning the classical music, let me say for those who like this genre that there is a famous Suite bergamasque which is “one of the most famous piano suites” by Claude Debussy. But, this is what is being said by encyclopaedias. It is, in fact, a very nice, unpretentious musical piece that is so pleasant to listen to.
While I was strolling slowly towards the elevation of San Vigilio, I stopped several times in order to enjoy the view at the Upper Town, but “from above.”
Once you have reached this elevation, there is the church of San Vigilio that stands out, but the very summit was reserved in the past for a strategic fortification of the same name whose remains may be seen today. What I found most interesting in this spot, however, was the view at the mountains some of which still, at the end of April, had their peaks covered by snow.
After a short stay here, I went down to the San Vigilio Funicular that was just starting to operate that day and then I took it and was soon back at the Sant’Alessandro Gate. It is precisely close to this gate that the pastry shop/bar/restaurant “La Marianna” is located and there I took a seat and enjoyed another portion of tasty ice-cream.
When I finished my ice-cream I headed towards the main street in the Upper Town, I passed by a large group of cyclists – all geared up, in cycling shorts, t-shirts that had pockets on the back for keeping different items handy and helmets. And it all seemed quite common. What I found quite uncommon about this particular group of people was that the majority of them were – elderly! Without any wish to insult anybody, but some of them seemed to be over 70. To me, this was unusual, but at the same time also fantastic!
In my country, people at this age most often just sit at home, or are thinking of a nursing home, or quarrel with their already grown-up children, or keep visiting doctors, or all of the above. The point is that I cannot even imagine a scene like this in Serbia. Even if somebody does appear this way, it is an isolated case and everybody is shocked and most of the people think this person is crazy.
In the case of these people here, it was obvious that they were doing something they liked. After all, it does not even matter that riding a bicycle is good for them and healthy, after all we are all going to die sooner or later, what is important is that while they are alive these people are doing something they like and that makes them happy.
In addition, the Italian national culture (this is me philosophising on the basis of a single “image” I passed by, but I like to believe that it is the image of the “normal”) appears to view at such an activity at an elderly age as something that is simply considered to be – OK.
A few years ago I wanted to refresh my basic ice-skating knowledge/skill in order to be able to use during summer the rollerblades given to me by a friend. I even entered the ice-skating “school,” but... Starting from the instructors that basically work only with small children and young moms, and are therefore completely untrained to understand the specific issues faced by a person in her 50’s who is very tall (trepidation that is unavoidably present or at least clear awareness of what a fall may cause, potential fall from a larger height in terms of a higher centre of mass in comparison to small children, less flexibility in knees, etc.) to my surroundings (this is no longer right for you...), I practically had no real support from any side.
In the end, literally during the last session, 15 minutes before the end of the class as well as of the entire season, I did fall and broke my arm. However, what I found fascinating was that I did not even mind this so much as I was sick of hearing everybody around me who, admittedly with worry in their voices, kept saying: “This is no longer right for you and your age.”
But, let me go back to Italy... it was wonderful to see these senior cyclists. I don’t know if people keep telling them that was no longer right for their age, but I thought it was great seeing them and feeling the youthful energy in them.
After these reflections, I continued along the central street of the Upper Town, passing again through the San Giacomo Gate, went downhill towards the flat, all the time enjoying the fine weather and the sights I was passing by.