Campanone

Bergamo (BG)

AM Lombardy and Aosta Valley

In the heart of Piazza Vecchia stands the Torre civica, known as the Campanone, which at 52.76 metres high offers a breathtaking panoramic view of the ancient city. At its summit, the largest bell in Lombardy, the Campanone, still strikes more than a hundred evocative chimes every evening at 10 p.m. as a perennial reminder of the closing of the city gates during Venetian rule.

At the summit - accessible by a pleasant climb on foot or comfortably by lift - dominates the largest bell in Lombardy, cast in 1656 by Bartolomeo Pesenti. Next to it stand two smaller companions: the older one, dating back to 1474, and the “mezzana”, forged in 1948 to replace the bronze requisitioned and cast by the RSI during the Second World War.

Created for defensive and representative purposes, the Civic Tower has over time become the beating soul of Bergamo, an unmistakable profile in its skyline. Its voice, a symbol of secular power, has marked political moments and the daily life of the community for centuries. Even today, every evening at 22:00, the Campanone beats its evocative one hundred chimesa ritual evoking the closing of the gates along the walls at night during Venetian rule.

The Campanone is now one of the six stages of the Bergamo Story Museum, a diffuse exhibition that narrates the events of the city from Roman times to the 20th century.

➡️ Info Accessibility: Accessible to the first terrace by lift. Small dogs are only allowed inside a pet carrier. Access to dogs for the blind is always permitted.