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Home > Travel Italy > Italy Destinations > Bergamo
Bergamo
Italy, officially the Italian Republic or Repubblica Italiana, is a Southern European country comprising of the Po River valley, the Italian Peninsula and the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. It is shaped like a boot and for this reason Italians commonly call it lo Stivale, the boot or, due to its prevalent peninsular geographical nature, la Penisola, the Peninsula.
Bergamo is a town in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 kilometers northeast of Milan. This community covers 39.6 square kilometers, and is home to 113,143 inhabitants. It is home to Orio al Serio International Airport, which serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent Milan. Its population as of 2004 was 117,887 and the density is 3,046 square kilometers.
The town has two centers Citta alta that is uptown and Citta bassa that is downtown. These two parts of the town are connected by road. Bergamo occupies the site of the ancient town of Bergomum, which was a Roman municipality. It was destroyed by Attila in the fifth century. From 1264 to 1428 the town was ruled by Milan, but passed to Venetian control until 1797.
Prominent musicians born in Bergamo include Gaetano Donizetti, Pietro Locatelli and Antonio Lolli. Alessandro Grandi was one of the most progressive composers of the early 17th century after Monteverdi. Tarquinio Merula was an even more progressive composer and one of the founders of the early sonata.
Bergamo was the hometown and last resting place of Enrico Rastelli, a highly technical and world famous juggler who lived in this town and, in 1931, died here at the early age of 34 years. There is a life-sized statue to Rastelli within his mausoleum. The town hosted the seventh Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne in 1951. From 1945 to 2000, the town also hosted for about 45 years, the headquarter of the Mechanized Infantry Brigade called Legnano.
A city known for its historic myths and traditions, scenic beauty, cooperative people and luxurious hotels and cottages, Bergamo is one of the favorite holiday destinations for most of the vacation lovers.
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