Turn to Wonder

We had a lovely finish to the silent retreat with a moving closing circle and then the chance to talk over breakfast. We made some special connections and everyone was very warm (and glad to meet Neil!).

By mid-morning we had been dropped by taxi in Bergamo Città Alta (or as the waiter in Milano called it, 'Bergamo Upstairs'). This is the old mediaeval city on a hilltop, below which sprawls Bergamo Downstairs - the modern city.

And speaking of upstairs, our room is at the top of a three storey stone building, with a very steep, narrow staircase! Perfect!! We look out onto the main street (also stone and narrow) and a very tall 13th century tower. Apparently the townsfolk around here used to build such towers to show off their power and wealth (a kind of feudal pissing competition), and this is the last one standing.

It was a beautiful sunny morning but not too hot, and we were delighting in our freedom to wander aimlessly and take in the sights after an intense week.

As we wandered, a parade of folks wearing different costumes, and some carrying large vases on their heads (go figure), strolled past. We never did find where they were going or why such strange behaviour.

Inside almost every door and window is a beautifully enticing space to pause, sit and eat ...

or drink!

Eventually, we succumbed ...

salute!!

In the evening we ate in the delightful, large, vine-covered courtyard of a converted gaol, which is part of a restaurant called Circolino. Circolino, serving local Bergamese specialities, is managed by the Cooperative Città Alta, a social enterprise that creates and supports socio-assistance, educational and cultural projects in the Bergamo area. It was very reasonably priced and packed with diners.

After dinner, we visited the 16th century house of Bartolomeo Colleoni which is open to the public only a few days each year. Colleoni was a wealthy philanthropist whose main charitable work was to provide dowries for young Bergamese girls to allow them to be married respectably. This is the fresco on the ceiling of his dining room.

And around the walls, the frescoes depict the womanly virtues (faith, hope, love, prudence, humility and the like).

Next morning, after rising slowly and lazing over coffee in a nearby cafe, we walked to the city walls and wandered 'downstairs' into the sprawling 'new' city of Bergamo.

The walls of the old city are an impressive example of renaissance military architecture (recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Built between 1561 and 1588 by the Republic of Venice (!) these fortifications stretch roughly 6kms around the upper town. Here's a little snippet, which doesn't really do them justice. Below the stone wall the hill drops away steeply for another 80 metres, so this place literally has upstairs and downstairs levels.

😅

Imagine lugging a battering ram up a hill like this. If I'd been in an invader confronting this fortification after arriving across the vast flat plain or from the Alps (note the foothills in the distance below), I'd have been very tempted to look for an easier target (which, I imagine was what the wall builders were hoping might happen)!!

A gate.

We were struck by how much human energy and resource has been poured over the centuries into war and resisting war. Not much has changed. Note the lion at the top of the gate, representing the kingdom of Venice.