Bergamo Cathedral

Stand still for a moment in Piazza Duomo and listen. Footsteps echo off pale stone. Pigeons settle on the cornices. Somewhere nearby, a bell marks the quarter hour. This small square sits at the heart of Città Alta, the Upper Town of Bergamo, and the cathedral fills one side of it. Its pale facade faces you calmly, almost modestly. Look closely, though, and you will see that this building has been rebuilt and reshaped many times over the centuries.

The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Alexander, the patron saint of Bergamo. According to tradition, Alexander was a Christian soldier of the Roman army, part of a unit known as the Theban Legion. Christian tradition holds that he refused to give up his faith and was executed here in the early fourth century. Many details of his story belong to legend rather than documented history. Even so, his name runs through the whole city, from street names to the shrines and churches dedicated to him.

Here is the first surprise. For centuries, Bergamo did not have one cathedral. It had two. One was dedicated to Saint Vincent and stood roughly where you are now. The other, dedicated to Saint Alexander, stood outside the old walls. The two churches shared the role of cathedral, and that arrangement caused long disputes between their clergy. Questions of rank, ceremony and income kept the arguments alive for generations.

The situation changed in the sixteenth century. At that time Bergamo belonged to the Republic of Venice. Venice decided to surround the Upper Town with massive new fortifications. Those walls still circle the hilltop today, and they are now part of a UNESCO World Heritage listing. To make room for them, the Venetians demolished buildings in their path. The old church of Saint Alexander was among them. The building you are facing slowly absorbed both traditions.

The present structure took shape from the fifteenth century onward. The Florentine architect known as Filarete produced a design for the rebuilding. Filarete was a sculptor and theorist who also worked in Milan. His plan was not carried out exactly as he imagined it. Later, in the late seventeenth century, the Roman architect Carlo Fontana reworked the design. Over time the church came to carry Saint Alexander's name instead of Saint Vincent's.

Now look up at the facade. It is much younger than it appears. The main front was only completed in the nineteenth century, in a restrained neoclassical style. Neoclassical means architecture inspired by the clean columns and proportions of ancient Greece and Rome. So the face you see belongs to a much later age than the walls behind it. Bergamo spent hundreds of years building this cathedral, and the facade was the last major piece.

The dome is also a nineteenth-century addition. On top of it stands a statue of Saint Alexander, watching over the rooftops of the Upper Town. From the square, the dome is hard to see properly, because the buildings stand so close together. You see it better from the walls, or from the hills above the city. From there, the dome rises clearly above the red-tiled roofs.

Turn around slowly and notice what surrounds you. This is the second surprise. The cathedral is not the most richly decorated building in its own square. Right beside it stands the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, with its striped marble porches. Attached to the basilica is the Colleoni Chapel, with a facade covered in coloured marble patterns. A small octagonal baptistery also stands nearby. Here, the city's cathedral is the quiet neighbour of more decorated buildings.

Step inside, and the mood changes. The interior has a single wide nave, which is the long central space of the church. Gilded stucco, painted ceilings and marble altars line the walls. Most of the decoration dates from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the age of the Baroque. Baroque art aims for drama, movement and light, and you can feel that energy here. Let your eyes adjust to the warm, golden tones before you move forward.

Look for the work of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, the great Venetian painter of the eighteenth century. In the cathedral there is an altarpiece by him showing the martyrdom of Saint John, an early bishop of Bergamo. Tiepolo was famous for bright skies, flowing fabrics and figures that seem to float. Take your time with it. Notice how the light in the painting falls on the faces at the centre.

The cathedral also has a strong link to one of the most loved popes of the twentieth century. Pope John the Twenty-Third was born in a village near Bergamo and served as a priest in this diocese. A diocese is the area under the care of a bishop. Many local people still feel a personal connection to him. You may notice visitors pausing in front of images and memorials dedicated to him.

The deepest layers of this place lie under your feet. Excavations beneath the cathedral have uncovered remains from the Roman period and from early Christian and medieval churches. Some of this area can be visited through the cathedral museum, which may require a separate ticket. Walking down there, you see how this hilltop has been a sacred and civic centre for a very long time. Each new building rose on top of the one before.

When you leave, pause again on the steps. Feel the smooth stone under your feet, worn by centuries of visitors and worshippers. Look across at the striped porch of Santa Maria Maggiore, then back at the calm facade behind you. Listen for the bells. As you walk away through the narrow lanes, remember that Bergamo spent hundreds of years shaping this cathedral, and it still serves the city today.