By: john albert
Submitted: 2010-08-20 04:50:39 | Word Count: 491
Bergamo is a small town located in the foothills of the Alps in Italy, with a population of around 120,000. It is roughly 40 km northeast of Milan. The airport which serves this city is called Orio al Serio Airport, 3.7 km southeast of Bergamo. This airport is known for cheap airlines like Ryanair.
Bergamo is named “a real life tale of two cities” as the city is divided into two parts with such a distinct atmosphere. The lower city “Città Bassa” is an industrialized place with fast and busy life pace. It is said that if you leave a young man from Città Bassa with nothing to do five minutes, he could build a house when you come back. When you come here, you can feel the vibrancy of the lower city. What may shock you is the number of the banks as on average, it could be one bank per head of population.
Then, it comes to the upper city which is the first choice of the tourists, "Città Alta". The upper city bears little resemblance with the lower city. Compared to the fast pace in the lower city, the medieval atmosphere made by the plenty of historic heritage will fascinate you deeply.
In history, the area of Bergamo was the site of the old town of Bergomum. It was occupied by the Celtic tribe of Cenomani as a settlement. The number of its inhabitants reached the peak in 49 BC when it became a Roman municipality. It served as a vital military hub, but later the city was ruined by the ruler of the Huns, Attila, in the 5th century. From 6th century, it was conquest by the Lombard Kingdom. Then, after a lot of bitter wars, it was under the control of Milan. In 1428, the Venetian Republic took over the city and preserved large part of the city.
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The city got independent during the Second Italian War of Independence by Giuseppe Garibaldi from the control of the Austrian Empire and Bergamo became part of the Italy kingdom at that time.
The 20th century saw the successful industrialization of Bergamo due to people’s hard work and the peace it luckily earned during the World War II.
There are numerous attractions to visit in the upper part of the city such as the old square of Piazza Vecchia, Cittadella, Palazzo della Ragione and Cappella Colleoni.
The ground traffic of Bergamo is quite good. It would be such a joy to drive a car here. What is more important, hiring a car will enable to explore the historic upper city and the modern lower city with total freedom. If you travel with a big family, hiring a car will help you save the budget a lot and bring you more convenience. Car rental companies such as Holiday Autos, Netflights.com, arguscarhire.com, easyCar, CarHire3000, carhiremarket, ebookers, Budget, Expedia, MyCarHire, Opodo, AutoEurope, Avis and Hertz will take care of your need.
