The nucleus of Castagneta is distributed along an ancient road that led into the Brembana Valley and the canton of Grisons (CH), which ran parallel to the Vasi aqueduct.
Castagneta belonged to the Corpi Santi, an administrative crown extending a couple of miles around the city.
The name recalls the spread of chestnut groves in the hills of Bergamo, around the 18th-century church dedicated to St. Rocco.