Bergamo Area
The development of industry has disfigured the landscape of the Bergamo area, especially in Valle Seriana, located northwest of the city, where factories and apartment blocks win the competition with forests and mountains, and rivers were turned into streams by the construction of hydroelectric power plants. However, the upper parts of the valley are quite nice and are easy to reach by bus from Bergamo.
Clusone
The first village in the valley of the Serio River, where it is worth staying, is picturesque, the village of CLUSONE on the top of the hill, where the main, an attraction that attracts tourists, is Chiesa dei Disciplini (above the center, 10 Min. from the bus station). Inside it is not particularly interesting, but two well preserved, Fifteenth-century frescoes, placed on the wall of the church, they certainly justify coming here. Interesting is not only the obvious message of the frescoes, but also their political meaning. The theme of the upper fresco, The Triumph of Death, is the attitude of the rich to death. Three nobles return from a hunt and encounter an open tomb on the road with the half-corrupt bodies of the pope and the emperor.. Above the grave stands a huge skeleton, which symbolizes death, and other skeletons, incorruptible, not interested in the bribes offered to them, they are going to the figures standing over the coffin. The Dance of Death is a continuation of this story with a moral: opposed here are the corrupt upper classes and the satisfied representatives of the plebs in procession., each of which in its own way, dancing joyfully, moves towards death, and the inscription above them calls those, who truly served God, so that they are not afraid to approach and "join the dance"”.
After Clusone itself, it is also worth going, especially on Monday, when steep, winding streets are occupied by sellers of sausages and cheeses made in the area. The AAST office is located in Piazza della Orologia, whose name comes from the Palazzo Comunale located on the tower, extremely complicated, Sixteenth-century clock. Having time and patience, you can try to read the current date from it, Zodiac, night length and moon phase. The tourist office has information about local walking routes and hotels (of the five one-star hotels, the cheapest is Gamberino on Via Cifrondi, *0346/21215).
Val Cavallina
From Clusone you can take a bus over Lago d'Iseo or up Valle Seriana, although the latter possibility will be of interest mainly to avid skiers. Located slightly to the south, parallel to Valle Seriana, Val Cavallina, it has also suffered from the expansion of industry, it is disfigured by small factories and ugly residential buildings. Holiday resorts around Lago Endine are rather pleasant, but most newcomers just bypass them and go straight to Lago Iseo.
Further northwest, across the lake, lies a large ski resort Cantoniera della Presolana, with several expensive hotels, that come from the turn of the century. There are fifteen slopes, ice rink, ski and toboggan rental and a certain number of not very expensive, one-star hotels. Located behind Presolana, Val di Scalve is famous for its Dezzo River Gorge. The rocks hanging over the narrow riverbed carved by the swift current of the river look extremely picturesque, even though the river itself is now, as a result of building a hydroelectric power plant here, is just a small stream.
Val Brembana
Northeast of Bergamo is surrounded by the Val Brembana Mountains, which way in the Middle Ages regularly passed caravans of mules, transporting minerals from Valtellina to cities on the plain. Today, the road is traversed mainly by Sunday skiers going to FOPPOLO and slightly less energetic Italians heading to the SPA SAN PELLEGRINO TERME.. San Pellegrino has been the most fashionable resort in Lombardy since the beginning of this century, and its most important, excessively impressive buildings, elegant hotels and casino, come from the turn of the century. Tired of this pseudo-Baroque, you can take the cable car to SAN PELLEGRINO VETTA, from where the views of the Alps are simply fantastic.