Italy Day Seven - Bergamo and Lake Como

 (A multi-part recap of my mid-April to early May Italy trip.)

Day seven and it was time to move on.  After a fairly good night's sleep in our second Bolzano hotel room, and a nice, hot decongesting shower, I masked up and drug my sick self down to breakfast.  (Yep, I was still suffering from that cruddy cold!)

In line for the Città Alta funicular

After loading up the bus, my friends Debbie, Kim and I waved goodbye to Bolzano and the Dolomites.  Although it had been great to see the mountains where the most recent Winter Olympics had taken place, we'd arrived in shoulder season with most of the high elevation hiking trails still inaccessible.  I'm sure had we timed our visit for midsummer (and I hadn't been suffering from a cold) I would've enjoyed the place more.

Here comes our ride!

Time to see more of Italy!  Today's destination was Lake Como, one of the country's most stunning bodies of water.  But to break up the long bus ride, our main guide (MG) had planned a midday stop in the town of Bergamo.  Famously known for its walled hilltop, Città Alta (old town), which was a UNESCO World Heritage site, the place was rich in Renaissance culture.

First glimpse of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

By late morning, our tour bus had arrived in Bergamo.  After a quick, unauthorized unloading at a city bus stop, our MG led the group on a short walk to the nearby funicular terminal.  Although city streets led to the top of its lofty plateau, the easiest way to reach Città Alta was by funicular.

Basilica selfie!

Surprisingly, the place was very busy on this morning, necessitating a bit of a wait for our turn in the funicular.  But once a car became available, our group crammed inside for a quick uphill trip to the famous walled city.

Beautiful Basilica facade

Once on top of the plateau, our MG led the group to the town's main square, Piazza de Duomo.  At the plaza's far side, a gorgeous church peeped through an opening between two buildings. The MG identified this church as the Baslicia di Santa Maria Maggiore.  Like the basilica in Venice, it was built in the late 1100's to fulfill a vow made to the Virgin Mary to protect Bergamo from the plague.  After handing out admission tickets to the church, we were turned loose for a few hours of exploration.

The Basilica's interior was stunning!

Since we were already here, my friends and I decided to first go check out the basilica.  From the outside square, we gaped at the basilica's intricately sculpted marble facade.  Although the outer facade was lovely, it was no comparison to what awaited us inside.

The Basilica's depiction depiction of Jesus on the cross was rather gruesome

The basilica's inner walls were covered with artwork and ornate sculptures.  Shiny wooden carved panels encircled some of the side chapels.  And the ceiling was best of all - every square inch was elaborately decorated.  Colorful, detailed paintings and golden carvings dominated this most impressive place of worship. I stood in stunned wonder at the beauty of it all.

Beautiful carved wood side altar surrounds this painting

Oh was my camera shutter clicking!  My friends and I fanned out amongst the church, trying in vain to capture this most stunning basilica.  Since I've run out of adjectives to describe all the amazing artwork found in this basilica, I'm going to let my photos speak for themselves.  Enjoy the following images.

Photo time!

The elaborately decorated ceiling was magnificent

Artwork was everywhere

Painting under an archway

Carved lion's head

Gorgeous wooden panels

Interesting carved wooden railings

An ancient fresco

The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore was the first place in Italy I saw frescoes.  Fresco style paintings were used extensively during the Renaissance in Italy.  The word fresco is derived from the Italian adjective meaning "fresh."  During our morning bus ride, the MG explained the art of creating frescoes.  As opposed to traditional paintings, where the color is applied to a dry surface, a fresco refers to a technique where water-based pigments are applied directly to wet plaster.  As the plaster dries, the paint chemically bonds with the wall, making the artwork a permanent part of the structure.  One of the walls inside the basilica had several of these paintings.  It was interesting to see the difference between a fresco and traditional paintings.

Campanone tower

My friends and I had a wonderful time exploring the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, but after an hour our bladders were telling us it was time to find a WC.  So we emerged into the basilica's courtyard, where I took in a most impressive bishop's house and adjacent tall bell tower.  Had our conditions not been so urgent, I would have probably explored these - but we had our priorities!  After locating the nearby public restrooms, we learned they required a euro for usage.  Assuming the place required exact change, we desperately pooled our leftover coins, barely scraping up enough for all three of us.  Once inside the facilities, we discovered the WC staffed by a lady who could've made change.  Oh well.

Piazza del Duomo

Now it was time to find a bit of lunch.  Kim, Debbie and I wandered onto the Piazza del Duomo and admired the beautiful fountain in its center.  A huge group of schoolchildren on a field trip soon swarmed around its bubbling waters, so we decided to move on.

Fountain in the piazza

Although we found many outdoor restaurants circling the piazza's perimeter, most were already busy.  Assuming the prices were higher at the places closest to this attraction, my friends and I decided to explore one of the side streets, in hopes of finding less crowded and cheaper dining options.

Lotti having a drink with friends

Choosing an adjacent street, we plunged into the crowd.  It was lined with all sorts of interesting stores and we all enjoyed a bit of window shopping.  I especially liked a bakery, with colorful iced cookies displayed in the window.  As hungry as I was, they looked mighty tempting.

Interesting decorated cookies in this bakery

A short walk down this side street took us to a wider spot in the road, which was full of tables from three different adjacent restaurants.  Perusing the menus, my friends and I chose the place with the most pasta options and had a seat.

Another fine lunch al fresco

Although the tables were packed closely to one another, it was a pleasant atmosphere.  Umbrellas shaded us from the sun, and our waiter was attentive.  Debbie and I ordered pasta, but Kim decided on a sausage pizza.  When the pizza arrived, Kim's "sausage" toppings looked suspiciously like cut up hot dogs (but Kim assured us it was still good.)

A delicious bowl of pasta

Because public WCs were scare and cost money, we took advantage of the restaurant's facilities before leaving.  I had a laugh at their funny restroom signs.

Funny restroom signs

Finished with lunch, my friends and I set out to find a portion of the ancient wall that encircled Città Alta.  Unsure of exactly where to find this wall we chose a street and started walking, assuming since it surrounded the city we'd come to the wall eventually.  One our way, we ran into two of our tour-mates who said they'd been looking all over and hadn't found the ancient wall yet.  Hmmm.....was this a wild goose chase?

I spotted a fresco on this old building

Despite our tour-mates' supposedly failed search, my friends and I decided to continue down the same street - we'd eventually come across something, wouldn't we?  After passing more interesting shop fronts and aging apartment buildings with peeling paint (one even had what looked like a fresco on it's wall) we came upon a large stone structure with a tall arch through the middle.  Of course we three ladies had to see what was on the other side.

Photo op in this archway

The arch opened into a large, paved plaza surrounded by low buildings.  On one side were a few tall trees and a small patch of grass.  As my friends and I walked towards this park area, we realized it was adjacent to a tall, stone wall that looked awfully old.  Was this the Città Alta ancient wall?

Another large piazza

The wall was tall - probably at least 25 feet high by my estimation.  It was constructed with a jumble of weathered stones.  And the wall appeared to continue in both directions.  My friends and I were nearly certain this was the ancient Città Alta wall.  How, we wondered, did our other tour-mates miss this?

We finally found the old city wall

Old city wall

After all that walking to reach it, we found the Città Alta wall to be underwhelming.  My friends and I followed the wall's base for a short distance before coming upon an opening leading out into the town of Bergamo itself.

Staircase selfie!

We three ladies walked around the outside of Città Alta's ancient wall for a bit, taking in the busy streets of Bergamo.  Far in the distance, I could see another old wall extending through a nearby brushy hillside.  However, we tired of dodging traffic quickly, and locating another arched entrance for Città Alta we ducked back into it's quieter streets.

Bergamo street scene

More colorful buildings

A glimpse of another medieval wall in the distance

Arched walkway

Autos were few and far between in Città Alta and it was a relief to just dodge people instead of wheeled vehicles.  My friends and I spent the last hour of our free time just wandering through the narrow lanes, me taking photos and Debbie and Kim checking out the cute shops.

View of the narrow city streets of Alta Citta

This arched doorway was framed with flowers

Happy travelers

The city business district was very interesting

Not sure what Debbie and Kim were pointing at

Another unique tower

We did find a charming little piazza adorned with several beautiful trees and planters with green bushes hidden in what appeared to be a residential area.  Part of the fun of travel is discovering these little gems!

Large trees shade this cute park

Green leaves on an old brick wall

Tiny piazza squeezed between the buildings

And I discovered this decorative fountain surrounded by businesses and apartment buildings.

Fountain photo op

I was surprised by the large number of people packed into the streets of Città Alta on this Thursday in April.  We also encountered quite a few large groups of schoolchildren.  Apparently this place was popular with the locals too!

Another view of the bell tower

With our tour meet up time fast approaching, I grabbed a quick gelato from a nearby shop to complete my time in Bergamo and Città Alta.

Time to ride the funicular back down

Our tour group reassembled and walked back to catch the funicular down to Bergamo proper and our waiting bus.  This time when the funicular car arrived, I jumped inside and nabbed a spot next to the uphill window.

Lotti is ready for the ride

It was the perfect place to get a few photographs as our funicular car pulled away from the upper terminal.  The area adjacent to the trackway was nicely landscaped.  As our car descended I also got a good look at exactly how steep the funicular tracks were (they rivaled anything I saw in Switzerland that's for sure!)

The funicular tracks were beautifully landscaped

A very steep grade

Back at the lower funicular terminal, our group walked back to the same city bus stop we'd quickly unloaded at earlier and waited for our bus to return.  Upon arrival, we repeated the same speedy process getting on the bus.  Then it was Andiamo! - On to Lake Como.

First view of Lake Como from the bus window

Before this trip, I really didn't know much about Lake Como, so as our bus approached the lake I was surprised to see several large mountains rising from the water level.  Like the Dolomites, these peaks were steep, rocky, light colored, and covered with patches of green.  I had no idea the surrounding area was so mountainous.  We passed through several midsized cities before finally crossing the lake on a lovely bridge that led into the town of Malgrate, our home for the next two nights.

Our hotel had a fabulous view of Lake Como

Kim and I gasped when we saw where our hotel was located.  Lake Como was right across the street.  When we entered our room, both of us were totally psyched to see we had stunning lake views right out the window.

Nearby lake shoreline

Our tour had scheduled a happy hour on our hotel's rooftop terrace.  It was such beautiful weather that Kim and I went up to the roof early, just to take in the tremendous views.  We thought the vantage out our room window was great, but from our hotel's fifth story, it was even better.

More amazing lake views

Blue water stretched across the lake surface.  Huge, craggy, steep mountains anchored the opposite shore.  They seemed to rise directly up from the water.  So stunning - I couldn't believe such a place existed!

Looking across the lake to the town of Lecco

Our hotel was directly across the lake from another town called Lecco.  From the rooftop, my friends and I enjoyed fantastic views of this sweet little berg, nestled amidst the soaring, gray peaks.  I especially liked a prominent bell tower that rose in close proximity to the lakeshore.

Close up of Lecco

Happy hour began promptly at 5 pm.  The hotel supplied a nice spread of munchies, primarily local meats, some cheeses, and bread.  For drinks there were several bottles of prosecco waiting to be poured into glasses and toasted.  The only problem - there were no alternate drink options provided for anyone with dietary restrictions, such as my friend Kim, who couldn't have wine.  She ended up buying her own beer, which I thought wasn't fair at all.  Another man on our tour, who was gluten intolerant, also had to purchase his drink.  It appeared our MG had forgotten about their dietary restrictions.  It was just the beginning of several issues we'd have with our MG about this.

But how could any of us remain upset when we were enjoying drinks with such a fantastic scenic backdrop?  Kim, Debbie, and I chose a table overlooking the lake and toasted our good fortune.

Rooftop happy hour

When happy hour was over, my friends and I were still a tiny bit hungry, and wanted just a small snack to tide us over until morning.  Across the street from our hotel were several restaurants, each offering beautiful outdoor dining areas fronting the lakeshore.  We crossed the street and set out to find something to fit the bill.  After checking menus on many of the establishments, we found a place offering panini sandwiches.  This was perfect!  

Our group enjoyed a good spread

However, the wind had come up and we thought it was now rather chilly for outdoor dining.  So we asked the attractive young waiter standing nearby if this place provided indoor seating.  The poor boy who couldn't have been older than eighteen, didn't understand our question.  He apologetically shook his head and said "no English."  Good thing for Debbie - she'd been studying Italian on Duolingo for over a year - and was able to have enough of a conversation with him to get our message across.  Once he understood our request, the young man enthusiastically led us three ladies across the street and into his restaurant building.  More sign language and broken Italian ensued trying to order.  When Kim needed a fork, and no one knew the Italian word, we successfully consulted Google translate.  Despite the language barrier, we had a great time and enjoyed trying to converse with our charming young waiter.  (Like most of Italian men we'd met so far, he was attentive, polite, impeccably groomed, and very good looking!)  Definitely a highlight of the trip!

Salute!

But the long day of traveling had worn me out.  Still not feeling my best, after dinner it was time to get to bed in hopes of finally beating this stupid cold.  Tomorrow my friends and I would have an entire day free to explore the villages around Lake Como.  I couldn't wait to see more of this gorgeous area.

Coming in my next post, a day in Lake Como.