Venetian walls (Mura venete di Bergamo) description and photos - Italy: Bergamo (Topic)

Venetian walls (Mura venete di Bergamo) description and photos - Italy: Bergamo. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Mura venete di Bergamo.

Photo and description

The Venetian walls surrounding Upper Bergamo along the perimeter existed in the era of Ancient Rome and were rebuilt in the Middle Ages and then several more times. Traces of the original Roman design can still be seen in the Via Vagine area under the Santa Grata Monastery and to the left of Viale delle Mura (west of the funicular).

By the beginning of the 16th century, the city walls were in a state of complete decline. It was then, in 1556, that the Senate of the Venetian Republic, which had ruled in Bergamo for more than a century, decided to completely rebuild this part of the city's fortifications. From a political point of view, the Venetians needed to strengthen the border of their mainland possessions, the western end of which was Bergamo, because the garrison of the Spanish Empire was located nearby. However, getting bogged down in a war with the Turks on the opposite front, the Venetians decided not to move further deeper into Lombardy. Thus, abandoning the original project of partial reconstruction and renovation of the medieval walls, within the framework of which Fort St. Mark and five new bastions had already been built, the Venetians decided to build a fortified structure from continuous ramparts.

In order to erect powerful fortified walls, over 250 buildings had to be demolished, and some parts of Upper Bergamo have changed their appearance forever. This was necessary in order to reduce construction costs, shorten construction time, and also due to the lack of other more suitable alternatives. It is reliably known that the early Christian Cathedral of St. Alexander, the Churches of San Lorenzo, San Pietro, Santo Stefano with the monastery of the same name and several sewerage systems from the era of Ancient Rome.

In 1574, there were 445 houses in Bergamo - about half the number before the construction of the walls, which were already signed in 1588 city in stone embrace. These walls, which today are among the largest fortified structures built by the Venetians on the mainland, have never been used for military purposes. At the beginning of the 20th century, they were demilitarized, and around them were avenues planted with horse chestnuts and plane trees. In 1976, the old walls, partly run by the municipality of Bergamo and partly owned by the state, were completely cleaned up and restored. Today, by prior request, you can see underground crypts and embrasures on the walls.

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Topic: Venetian walls (Mura venete di Bergamo) description and photos - Italy: Bergamo.