Rocca – Museo dell’Ottocento

Bergamo (BG)

AM Lombardy and Aosta Valley

On the Colle di Sant'Eufemia, a short distance from the funicular railway, stands the Rocca, a 14th-century fortification that is one of Bergamo's best-loved sights. A short walk leads to its walls and the mighty Venetian tower, a privileged vantage point: from here the view sweeps from the treasures of the Upper City to the Orobian Pre-Alps, embracing the entire plain as far as the horizon of Milan.

The complex houses the Mauro Gelfi‘ Museum of the 19th Century’, an itinerary that narrates the transformations of the city from the’Ancien Régime to the Unification of Italy. Amongst uniforms, weapons and proclamations, everyday objects stand out, such as the piano on which the’Garibaldi's anthem. Even simple items such as fans or sugar bowls testify to the dissemination of the patriotic message, decorated with Risorgimento mottos and tricolour.

The story unfolds through the biographies of the protagonists: from the busts of Gabriele Camozzi and Alba Coralli, united by a passionate story of love and politics, to the portrait of Alessio Maironi, the youngest of the Bergamasque volunteers who fell in Sicily. A specific section also celebrates the contribution of 180 Bergamasks who took part in the Expedition of the Thousand.

Today, the fortress is one of the six beating hearts of the Bergamo Story Museum, a widespread exhibition network tracing the evolution of the city from Roman times to the 20th century.