Torre Civica (Campanone)

The Civic Tower or “Big Bell” overlooks the top of Piazza Vecchia in Città Alta and it’s considered one of the symbols of Bergamo. My friends and I on a Saturday morning decided to explore some of the streets of Città Alta and feel like tourists in our own town.

The Civic Tower was built between the XI and the XII century, used as a residence and a tower at the same time from one of the most important families of those times, The Suardi’s family.

The Smallest Bell hung in the Civic Tower was cast by Gasparino da Vicenza in 1474, being thus the oldest of the three bells in it. Because of its peculiar shape, it is a very well preserved example of the 15th century art of casting. The bell tolls quite often, you might not want to be there when it does!

The are different ways to discover the beauty of the tower: from Piazza Vecchia you can see it in all its majesty while going up to the top of the tower you can have an amazing view! We took plenty of pictures, here there are some of the best ones from that day!

http://82.115.174.26/turismobg/images/CosaFare-Itinerari/BG48h/Torre_civica-Civic_Tower_ph_Mazzoleni.jpg — View from Piazza Vecchia.

One of my favourite pictures, you can see the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore and the Colleoni’s chapel, a Reinassance piece created between the 1472 and 1475 by the architect and sculptor Giovanni Antonio Amadeo.

fullsizerender2 — View from the top of the tower

citta-alta — Another view from the top of the tower

The Civic Tower is 52 metres high and there are two ways to go on top: stairs for “sporty people” ( We took the stairs, so many stairs!) and the lift, helpful for children and old people. It’s not just the highest tower in town but it’s the only place where you can have a 360 view of Bergamo’s skyline!

Interesting note: every night at 10 pm the bell rings 100 tolls to the remember the curfew, back in the days.

I strongly advise going up to the tower, especially on a sunny day. You won’t be disappointed! The ticket costs 3€. You should always check the site for opening hours.

Last but not least, I made a short video about the article with my friend @gromamm on Youtube! Check it out!