Fortified city of Bergamo, Historic defensive walls in Città Alta, Bergamo, Italy
The fortified city of Bergamo surrounds the upper district with stone walls that feature bastions, gates, and underground passages throughout their structure. The walls form a continuous defense line with systematically positioned military elements.
The Venetian Republic built these fortifications between 1561 and 1588 to defend against rival powers threatening their western border. This construction represented the peak of Venetian military engineering strategy of that era.
The walls shape how the old town looks and feels, marking the boundary between two distinct parts of Bergamo. People today still move through the same gates their ancestors used, making the fortifications a living part of daily life.
You can walk the entire perimeter on marked paths that offer views across the Po Valley and toward the Alpine peaks. The routes are open to the public and let you explore the full circuit at your own pace.
The fortification contains 14 bastions and around 100 embrasures for cannons, forming a complete defensive system. This large number of firing positions demonstrates the military sophistication of the Venetian design.
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