Where's Bergamo?

From Treviso I travelled to Bergamo, which is northeast of Milan.  I had planned to stay here for a week and relax.  But between there being not much here of interest, an Airbnb stay that is sub-par, and the food/wine being only okay, well, what can I say?  I'm cutting the 7 nights down to 5 and leaving for Bologna on Monday 4 Nov 2019.

So why did I pick Bergamo in the first place?  Well, it's an old Roman hill-town which is split between the upper town (Città Alta) and the lower town (Città Bassa) and a couple of funiculars connecting the two.  When I read about it, I envisioned a plateau.  But it's not a plateau, it's a very large hill or a small mountain.

Bergamo's Venetian Walls around Città Alta

The lower city is mostly flat, but the upper city is on this mount; the main piazza (Piazza Duomo) is on the top and is about the only substantial flat spot in the upper city.  All the rest is on the hillside, including the medieval city walls.  The residents must be the most in-shape people around because the are constantly climbing up or down a reasonably steep path.

Porta Sant'Agostino in Bergamo's Venetian City Wall

So I arrived at the Airbnb to check-in.  No problem--it's a self check-in thing where you collect the keys from a lockbox, sort of like realtors use, except it's in the (unlocked) mailbox.  The lockbox code was in the email explaining the process.  Got to the apartment (one floor up, no elevator, with a large bag and a medium/small bag, plus computer bag).  Keys all worked fine.  So now I look around the apartment.

I don't stay in Airbnb shares, but rather only select stays where I get the entire apartment.  In many cases these days, such dedicated Airbnb stays are condos that have been purchased (and often renovated) for just that purpose.  They have a minimum level of design, but as I've discovered, also a minimum of amenities.  The Bergamo Airbnb has no towel bars.  None. Zip. Nada (or Niente in Italian). So I drape wet towels over the radiators (which actually works quite well).  Another flaw in the design is again in the bathroom--the shower is small (as in its difficult to keep from knocking your elbows into the wall or the fixture that could turn the water off or push it to hot or cold).  But the worst part is the glossy, porcelain pan in the bottom--once wet, it's like trying to stand on ice; very slippery! There is also no soap dish mounted inside the shower--so you have to keep the soap on the floor of the shower and somehow bend down to retrieve it in the limited and slippery space. The kitchen has a cooktop and dishwasher, but no oven or microwave. At least the bed is comfortable.

So my first stop is at a Panda store (think dollar store) to get a suction-cup mounted soap dish, non-skid shower mat, a suction-mounted towel holder.

So after fixing up the apartment, I looked up Google map directions to the Duomo.  I figured it would take me to the nearest funicular (a 20 min walk from here), but it took me directly up the hill (20 minutes to the piazza directly, it said).  So I walked, or perhaps I should say climbed. And climbed.  It would have been a 20 minute walk on flat ground, but this path also had a 330 foot vertical rise (in my fevered brain, halfway up, I figured this was the equivalent of climbing to the top of a 30 story building).  And it was getting later than planned.  I was hungry and my feet hurt.  Time for an aperitivo!  Fortunately the street I was climbing was well populated with places to do just that.

I finally got to the top, but was pretty well exhausted.  And it was getting dark (well it took a bit longer than 20 minutes!).

Fontana di Piazza Vecchia, 1780 (Fountain in the Old Square)

In addition the 2 cathedrals, the Piazza Vecchia has the Palazzo della Ragione, or the Palace of Reason (better translated as the Building of Reason).  Now since this 12th century building used to be the town hall, a courthouse, a theater, and more, I'm not quite sure how the name applies.  Nota bene: I used to think that palazzo meant palace, and sometimes it does.  But most of the time it just means a large building--most of the apartment buildings in Italy are called palazzos, so I reserve palazzo=palace for a very large single family residence (usually royal).

Palazzo della Ragione (Building of Reason)

So by now, I was hungry and wanted dinner.  But alas, all the restaurants seemed to be booked.  And in the Città Alta, the last thing you want to do is wander around looking for an open restaurant because that wandering involves climbing up and down and up and down.  Finally after a lot of uping/downing, I found a decent place with a table (Il Sole Pizzeria Ristorante) and had my first taste of Bergamo's signature pasta: Casoncelli (Casonsèi in the Lombard dialect).  Casoncelli is a small/medium kind of ravioli in a half-moon shape with pancetta or sausage, cheese, salt, nutmeg, and bread stuffing, served with a butter sauce and sage.  I followed this with a Brasato di Vitello (braised veal cutlet). And a half bottle of Valpolicella Ripasso.  Now stuffed and slightly tipsy, I reversed my path and walked down the hill.

I returned to the Piazza Vecchia and Piazza Duomo a couple days later to see the cathedrals which were closed by the time I got to the top the first time.