CITY LIFE - BERGAMO

With its hilltop medieval citadel encircled by Venetian walls, views of the snow-capped Alps, a top-notch fine arts museum, and some of the region’s best restaurants, Bergamo is more than just a gateway to its starry neighbour Milan

- SARAH BARRELL

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Most Italian hilltop towns are hard-won, accessible only for those up to navigating long, winding mountain roads. Not so Bergamo. This vibrant city has all the charm of a remote Tuscan town, but is just 15 minutes’ drive from its own international airport. Despite Ryanair putting Bergamo on the radar when it landed at the then tiny airport in 2004, this is still an unsung destination. Often used as a jumping-off point for skiers bound for Lombardy’s eight mountain resorts, or as gateway to the region’s lakes and vineyards, Bergamo also draws fashion-focused travellers who fly in, hit the Oriocenter mega mall (Italy’s largest, adjacent to the airport), or dash to one of Milan’s design emporiums, then fly straight out. All of which makes Bergamo’s beautiful medieval hilltops even more of an exclusive joy.

In the foothills of the Alps, this is a two-for-one city-break experience with the Città Alta (upper city) and Città Bassa (lower city) offering dramatic contrast. The former is all cobbled streets and narrow vicoli (alleys) overhung with leafy balconies, centred around the small but immaculately formed Piazza Vecchia. Bergamo Alta crackles with medieval atmosphere in winter, overlooked by the austere clock tower that once rang nightly curfew for Bergamaschi to return within the city walls. Then, fanning out beneath the fortifications, Bergamo’s other half is a handsome Italian conurbation of wide boulevards, opera houses and buzzing bars. Connecting Bassa and Alta is a 19th-century funicular whose two little red coaches make an almost vertical climb through elegantly stacked gardens and parkland, offering expansive views over the Po Valley’s plains: as unexpectedly charming as this two-tiered city itself.