Art & Culture
Bergamo and its province offer an extraordinary variety of artistic and cultural attractions — from the ancient charm of Città Alta to the city’s museums and exhibitions, from castles and monasteries to archaeological sites. The city itself unfolds on two distinct levels: the upper town, steeped in history and atmosphere, and the lower town, lively and modern.
Bergamo Alta
Città Alta — “The upper town” — is an extraordinary ensemble of artistic and architectural masterpieces. Enclosed within the perfectly preserved Venetian Walls — recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017 — its medieval and Renaissance streets and palaces stand proudly atop the hill, seemingly untouched by time. The upper town can be reached by a funicular railway that has been in operation since 1887. A second line, opened in 1912, ascends further to Colle San Vigilio Hill, offering breathtaking panoramic views of Città Alta and the plains below.
GAMeC Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
Since 1991, GAMeC has been the reference point for art in the city of Bergamo, collecting figurative expression of the twentieth century, from historical moments to the most current experimentation.
Currently, the Gallery is housed in a 15th-century architectural complex renovated in the 1990s. In 2026, GAMeC will move to the new headquarters transformed from the former Sports Hall through an important urban regeneration project. The new location will offer wide and bright spaces, ideal for hosting the ever-expanding collections and for welcoming the growing audience interested in contemporary art. The project aims to make GAMeC increasingly a dynamic cultural centre capable of promoting visual culture in all its forms.
Accademia Carrara
Housed in a historic building with an elegant neoclassical façade, the Accademia Carrara combines an art gallery and a school of painting, founded in 1796 by Count Giacomo Carrara. With more than 1,800 works, the gallery presents a Comprehensive overview of Venetian, Lombard, and Tuscan schools, alongside masterpieces by both Italian and international artists. For the richness of its collection and cultural scope, it ranks among the most remarkable and fascinating museums in Italy.
Fondazione Legler for the Economic and Social History of Bergamo
The Economic and Social History Foundation of Bergamo promotes the preservation, study and enhancement of the documentation produced by Bergamo’s economic actors. The Foundation produces publications and organises guided tours, exhibitions and conferences in collaboration with cultural institutions. In addition, it is active in the educational field with programmes aimed at schools and universities. It is carrying out an important relaunch project, La fabbrica della cultura, which includes, among other things, the redevelopment of certain buildings.
Fondazione Bergamo nella storia
It manages the network of historical museums, Museo delle Storie di Bergamo, with seven places to visit: the Convent of San Francesco with the Sestini Photography Museum and Bergamo 900, the Civic Tower known as the Campanone, the Palazzo del Podestà, home of the 16th-century Museum, the Rocca, which hosts the 19th-century Museum, and the Donizetti Museum. In the lower city, the Torre dei Caduti stands out with an exhibition on the birth of modern Bergamo. In addition, the Bergamo Walls, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017, are included.
Fondazione Teatro Donizetti
The Fondazione Teatro Donizetti promotes culture and the arts by curating the theatre, opera, and music seasons at the historic Teatro Donizetti. Alongside the Stagione dei Teatri and Bergamo Jazz, it organises the Donizetti Opera international festival, which showcases to the world the immense musical legacy left to Bergamo by its most illustrious citizen, Gaetano Donizetti. In addition to reviving lesser-known works by Donizetti, the festival also stages his most celebrated operas, combining research, creativity, and international excellence to reaffirm Bergamo’s central role in the global opera scene.
Festival pianistico internazionale di Brescia e Bergamo
Recognised as one of the world’s most prestigious festivals dedicated to the piano, the Brescia and Bergamo International Piano Festival was founded in 1964 in Brescia as a tribute to the legendary pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, and soon expanded to include Bergamo. From its inception, the Festival has had its own orchestra and, as early as 1965, developed its distinctive “thematic” identity.
MADE Film Festival
Launched in 2023 under the banner of Bergamo Brescia Capitale Italiana della Cultura, MADE Film Festival is an original initiative of the Camera di Commercio di Bergamo. It is a cultural project dedicated to promoting Italy’s industrial heritage, celebrating both its historical memory and its living, dynamic dimension through innovative storytelling and multimedia forms. It focuses on the manufacturing world understood as an expression and synthesis of business culture and work, and aims to represent, narrate and disseminate business cultural heritage in a perspective that extends to international dialogue.
The festival comprises several complementary sections, all centred on enhancing corporate culture through audiovisual media. A key feature is its short film competition dedicated to business-themed productions, culminating in an awards ceremony that honours the best films during the festival days.
Food Film Fest
The International Festival of Cinema and Food, founded in 2014 from an idea by the Bergamo Chamber of commerce and the cultural association Art Maiora, is the event that links the world of cinema with Bergamo’s food and wine products. Food Film Fest presents stories that explore the universe of food through the language of film, bringing to the big screen the traditions and cultures of different countries.
Bergamo Film Meeting
A festival recognised at the European level, it aims to promote the appreciation and distribution of films which, despite their artistic and cultural quality and international awards, face difficulties being released in Italy. It also features retrospectives and tributes to emerging filmmakers. In addition, it is dedicated to the recovery and re-release of classic films from cinema history that are no longer available, even in specialised archives.
BergamoScienza
BergamoScienza is a major and well-established science festival that engages the city with a rich programme of free events. Its goal is to bring science “into the streets” and make it accessible to everyone, especially young people and schools. Numerous events make BergamoScienza — held every year at the beginning of October — an occasion of great discoveries, encounters, and emotions: conferences, round tables, exhibitions, interactive workshops, performances, and much more make it one of the most anticipated events of the autumn season.
FORME Project and the Cheese Valley
Bergamo is the European capital of cheese. The province of Bergamo produces nine Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheeses. In addition, the Bergamo mountain area is home to the production of seven other niche Orobic cheeses. Launched in 2015, the FORME project was created to enhance, promote, and protect Bergamo’s dairy heritage. In 2019, the international B2B trade fair B2Cheese was also introduced — the only international event dedicated exclusively to the dairy industry.
Strada del vino Valcalepio e dei sapori della Bergamasca
The Valcalepio Wine and Flavours of Bergamo Route showcases the area’s food and wine excellence and the hilly landscapes stretching between Bergamo, Lake Iseo, and the River Oglio. It crosses the Valcalepio DOC wine production area through three themed itineraries — the Convents Route, the Hills Route, and the Lakes Route — combining visits to abbeys, castles, and villages with stops at wineries and farms where visitors can taste wines, cured meats, cheeses, and traditional Bergamo pasta. This route offers an integrated food and wine experience, an ideal opportunity to explore the region at a leisurely pace, discover authentic flavours, and enjoy its historical and scenic beauty.
