BERGAMO, he'r'ga-mo, Italy, city and capital of the province of Bergamo, situated in the district lying between the rivers Brembo and Serio, and 33 miles northeast of Milan. It con sists of two distinct portions, the upper city, situated on hills, and now attainable by a cable tramway, and the lower city. Cittii Alta, with its hilly streets, ancient buildings, and lofty ramparts, now transformed into promenades, has a picturesque mediaval appearance. The much more extensive new quarters in the plain are very modern in every respect. At its fair goods to the value of a million sterling have sometimes been sold. It has an academy of painting and sculpture, a museum, an atheim um, a public library, several secondary schools, and various manufactories. There is a cathedral but some of the other churches are of greater interest. There is a small Protestant congrega tion. The comic characters in the Italian masked
comedy are Bergamese, or affect the dialect of the country people in the neighborhood of this city. In 1796 Bonaparte took Ber gamo, and it was subsequently made the capital of the department of the Serio, in the kingdom of Italy. Among many distinguished men born here are Tiraboschi, the historian of Italian literature; the composer Donizetti, and Cardinal Mai. Bergamo has a thriving trade; it was one of the first places to introduce the culture of the silkworm. Its principal manufactures are silk and other textiles, hats, farm implements and organs. Bergamum, the ancient town, was settled by the Gauls and became a munkipium in Caesar's time. In 1428 it was added to the Republic of Venice. Pop. 55,857.