A fortified citadel, at the most central point in Bergamo: for what purpose?
To defend against enemy attacks and as a garrison in the event of a popular uprising, certainly, but above all to remind local subjects at all times of the vast power of those who ruled them: the Visconti family, which was head of the Duchy of Milan and ruler of Bergamo from 1332 to 1428.
Today this space has become a characteristic square in Upper Town and still houses several signs of its varied past.
Coming from the historic center, you will pass under the Bell Tower: to the west you can see a medieval postern (small doorway in the pre-existing medieval walls).
Crossing it, you will encounter a Roman road (the short paved section before the cobblestones leading to the postern) and pass under the lowered vaults and cylindrical pillars of the Romanesque period, belonging to an ancient private residence.
Just outside the porch, you’ll find La Crotta garden, a magical place with trees and bushes interspersed with paths made of rectangular sandstone slabs.
Hidden among the greenery, secluded stone benches await you for a romantic stop.
On the north side of the square you can see Adalbert’s Tower towering, but don’t plan to visit it: it has no ground-floor access and the only way to enter it is to use a ladder up to the doorway located halfway up the building!
The reason is quickly said, this tower was also known as the “Tower of Hunger” and those guilty of serious crimes were imprisoned here.
The position of the citadel was highly strategic: complementary to the Rocca (another military structure) that was built to the east on the Sant’Eufemia hill, it enclosed the historic center of Bergamo between two fortified hills that formed a single, coordinated defensive complex.
Symbolically, too, the city was thus dominated by the buildings of the Viscontis, by whom it was held in considerable awe.
The actual fort, called Firma Fides, stood in an elevated position on St. John’s Hill, where you can see the Episcopal Seminary today.
Today’s Citadel Square, on the other hand, dates back to 1379: it was the courtyard of the Hospitium Magnum, which housed quarters for the military garrison.
Currently, in the Cittadella Square you can also visit the renowned cultural center consisting of the Civic Archaeological Museum and the Natural Science Museum ‘E.
Caffi’.