Cornello dei Tasso • Visit Bergamo

Strolling along a stretch of Via Mercatorum one can discover the roots and history of the postal service. Without forgetting to satisfy your palate with "casonséi" and "formai de mut"...

Where can you find the first postage stamp issued in the world? It is located Cornello dei Tasso, in the municipality of Camerata Cornello.

This charming village in Val Brembana, which is only reachable by foot through a stretch of the ancient pathway Via Mercatorum, which connected Bergamo with Valtellina until the seventeenth century, has forever linked its name with that of Tasso.

This ancient family and name is best known for giving birth to Torquato Tasso, author of Jerusalem Delivered, but very few know that one of the first multinational European businesses, the postal service between the German Empire and other European states, originated right here.

The various branches of the Tasso family played an important role in the establishment and management of the Serenissima Couriers Company and later were called to organize the papal post.

Meanwhile other members of the Tasso family obtained the first contracts for postal communications in Tyrol, with these roles they created a dense network of connections between hundreds of European cities. Carrying correspondence and valuables in addition to income taxes; it was from this type of service and their name that the term "taxi" was derived. The Museum of Tasso and Postal History is dedicated to this one-of-a-kind adventure.

Cornello truly is a little gem that goes perfectly with pleasant stroll, perhaps starting from the bottom where there are houses built directly on the river. Walking up towards the city you run into a porticoed street, a marvelous piece work made of stone and with a wooden ceiling, which was the real commercial center of the village. Higher up there are the houses of the nobels, while on top stands the "palace of Tasso", recently restored, which served as a guard to the valley.

Of course you can not pass through this area without tasting casonséi, homemade ravioli with a filling made of bread crumbs, cheese, egg, garlic and parsley, which is served with a sage butter, as well as the unavoidable and irresistible polenta, that here is prepared "cunsada", which means it is cut into small pieces and seasoned with fresh taleggio cheese, cream, butter and sage.