Bergamo

Bergamo ( BUR-gə-moh, Italian: [ˈbɛrɡamo] ; Bergamasque: Bèrghem [ˈbɛrɡɛm] ) is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Milan, and about 30 km (19 mi) from the alpine lakes Como and Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Garda and Maggiore. The Bergamo Alps (Alpi Orobie) begin immediately north of the city. With a population of 120,580 as of 2025, Bergamo is the fourth-largest city in Lombardy. Bergamo is the seat of the province of Bergamo, which counts more than 1,115,037 residents as of 2025. The metropolitan area of Bergamo extends beyond the administrative city limits, spanning over a densely urbanized area with slightly fewer than 500,000 inhabitants. The Bergamo metropolitan area is itself part of the broader Milan metropolitan area, home to more than 8 million people. The city of Bergamo is composed of an old walled core, known as Città Alta ('Upper Town'), nestled within a system of hills, and the modern expansion in the plains below. The upper town is encircled by massive Venetian defensive systems that has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 9 July 2017. Bergamo is well connected to several cities in Italy, thanks to the motorway A4 stretching on the axis between Milan, Verona, and Venice. The city is served by Il Caravaggio International Airport, the third-busiest airport in Italy with 12.3 million passengers in 2017. Bergamo is the second most visited city in Lombardy after Milan.