CALCIO: AN OPEN-AIR ART GALLERY

In Lombardy, there are 27 painted towns: villages whose walls narrate the most significant moments of local history and tradition.

One of these municipalities is Calcio, a village with a thousand-year history that stands on the banks of the Oglio river not far from Bergamo.

The historical and cultural value of the paintings that adorn the houses, palazzi and monuments and the strategic position of Calcio, a short distance from the cities of Bergamo, Brescia, Milan and Crema, make it an ideal destination for a visit to discover the Lombard history and traditions.

For about 30 years, Calcio has collected gigantic murals, paintings and artistic mosaics that have transformed the streets of the town into an open-air gallery. A cultural itinerary that consists of 47 stories by different artists that tell the history of Calcio, its nature and the town’s traditions.

Various themes are represented: from the agricultural and pastoral life typical of the Po Valley, to the arrival of the railway, from the first oil lights to religious traditions. In the paintings we find the simplicity, religiosity, fatigue and hard work of the locals.

There is the recurring theme of the agricultural world visible for example in "Nel prato” (In the meadow), the work by students of the Department of Fine Arts in Birmingham. Also interesting is the theme of the industriousness of the people of Calcio, present for example in the "Allegoria del lavoro” (Allegory of work), by Floriano Bodini.

Several paintings recall the key episodes of the Calcio community’s history, including "Regina della Scala, Signora di Calcio", by Giovanni Repossi. Lush nature and water are also widely represented themes. In "Il fiume Oglio a Calcio" Angelo Boni depicts the splendour of the intact lush vegetation and the limpid river.

Calcio is undoubtedly a place to discover, in addition to the painted walls you can visit the Church of San Vittore and two impressive castles: the Silvestri Castle, which stands on the ruins of a Roman villa from the second century AD. and the Oldofredi Castle, one of the oldest residences of the "condòmini" feudal lords.

More information

http://bassabergamascaorientale.it/punti-di-interesse/chiese/chiesa-san-vittore/

https://www.touringclub.it/itinerari-e-weekend/una-gita-a-calcio-il-paese-dipinto-in-provincia-di-bergamo

https://www.comune.calcio.bg.it/