FOLLOWING IN THE TRACKS OF GAETANO DONIZETTI • Visit Bergamo

Depart from Porta Nuova and arrive in front of the majestic Theatre named after the composer as of 1897. A little further away, in a small and quiet square, you will find a monument dedicated to him. These are clear signs that the heart of Bergamo beats for Gaetano Donizetti.

Take the line 1 bus to Colle Aperto or reach Borgo Canale via the stairs near the funicular and via Tre Armi. There you will find the birthplace of Donizetti, where you can listen to the Maestro’s voice as he tells of his family’s daily life.

If you continue to Via Colleoni, take the opportunity to enter the splendid Teatro Sociale. Here, Donizetti made his debut. Today, the theatre is the venue for the Donizetti Opera festival program.

Continue on Via Colleoni and on the left you will see a large white neoclassical building, the Palazzo Nuovo, which houses the Mai Library. Between one shelf of books and another you will find the autographed score of the Donizetti opera Lucia di Lammermoor.

Cross Piazza Vecchia and continue towards Piazza Duomo, in front of you is the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica. Inside you will find Donizetti's tomb. Around the corner is Palazzo Scotti, where the Maestro ended his days.

In via Arena, in the Donizetti Museum, you will find the relics of Donizetti's life. The Museum is located in the Domus Magna, home of the music schools where he studied. A few steps from there, Casa Angelini, where Donizetti took lessons from the Bavarian composer Simon Mayr.

When you arrive at the Accademia Carrara, look among the masterpieces for the painting by Ponziano Loverini. You will notice the Maestro who, although at the end of his life, keeps the time of the music played on the piano.