Breve storia di Bergamo. Dalle invasioni galliche alle signorie, dai Promessi Sposi all’Atalanta: tutta la storia della città dei Mille in un solo libro

When one mentions Bergamo, the Upper City, the UNESCO World Heritage Venetian walls and Garibaldi’s Expedition of the Thousand, which saw a very large number of volunteers arrive from Bergamo, immediately come to mind. But the long history of this city conceals much more. From the first occupation of Bergamo’s territory in the Copper Age to the Gallic invasion and the Roman era, from the centuries as a free commune to Venetian domination up to the present day: Giulia Greco and Rossella Monaco retrace the stages of Bergamo’s history, accompanying the reader to discover the highlights of the city’s life. Not only the facts, but also the traditions, anecdotes and myths that always accompany the birth and development of a community: the legend of the Brembo river, Manzoni’s Castle of the Unnamed, Saint Alexander, the Zanni… A fascinating journey through the multifaceted history of the city that was (with Brescia) the Italian Capital of Culture 2023. An itinerary to discover (or rediscover) Bergamo’s role in Italian history Among the anecdotes: When Bergamo was at the bottom of the sea – The martyrdom of Saint Alexander Between the 9th and 10th centuries: Bergamo’s throne of swords Guelphs and Ghibellines in Bergamo: the Rivola and Suardi families; Bergamo as a heretical city; The Tasso family and the postal service; The loyalty of corporal Becharino da Pratta; The mystery of the corpse of Bartolomeo Colleoni, captain of fortune and defender of Bergamo; The Zanni, ancestor of Harlequin; The Bergamo of the Betrothed; Francesco Nullo and Garibaldi’s redcoats; The tree of clogs: peasant life at the end of the 19th century; The Calvi brothers, martyrs of the Great War; Angelica Casile, ‘the partisan ‘cocca”; Salvatore Quasimodo’s imprisonment in the penitentiary of S. Agata.