About 40 km from Bergamo, Colli di San Fermo is a delightful district of the municipality of Grone, and offers memorable views over Val Cavallina. Woods, meadows and pastures, scenery that can be enjoyed from the mountain chain, just over 1000 metres high, looking out onto the Po Valley on one side and the Bergamo Alps on the other.   It is in a strategic position for the super-colourful giant bench, Big Bench #97 in yellow and white. The choice of colours is no coincidence, and reflects the narcissus, the flower that symbolises Colli di San Fermo, once picked by local women and children to sell to tourists. A deeply significant choice that reflects the Big Bench Community aim of making the most of and promoting the local area. To get to Big Bench #97, leave your vehicle in the large car park in Colli di San Fermo, near the Panoramic Belvedere, a refuge and a pond. From here, continue on foot along the route marked by the Cammina Orobie project. You will come to the Bench after about one hundred metres. A little further on, there is another blue and brown bench, not part of the Bangle collection, dedicated to the COVID victims of Val Seriana.  

Tra sentieri e mulattiere accompagnati dal dolce fruscio delle foglie

Cremona and its sweetness are closer than what you think

    This thousand-years-old monument populating the Imagna Valley features a rare circular shape reminiscent in some ways of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem or an ancient pagan pantheon, and a sign of a significant development of the area since Roman times.   The Temple of San Tomè has not yet completely revealed the mystery of its origin. It was thought to have been built on the ruins of a pagan temple, although supporting evidence has not been found. However, what is certain is that during the Lombard domination it was an important spiritual centre, to the point that the female monastery “Degli Agri” was built in the Middle Ages to expand the religious complex.It is easy to reach as it stands almost opposite the Brembo river, in Almenno San Bartolomeo, ten kilometres from Bergamo, almost welcoming us to the Imagna Valley.  (Ph: fondazionelemine.eu)

Also known as the Rothlisberger Bridge it is a rail-road traffic and connects Paderno and Calusco through the Adda River

Nestled in the lush Imagna Valley, the Tre Faggi (Three Beeches) forest offers enchanting trails for those who love the great outdoors.   Walking through birch and beech forests, the trail ends at an altitude of 1340 metres in front of the famous centuries-old Three Beeches, surrounded by their legendary history and next to the famous “Stonehenge of Bergamo”, an ancient stone shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary that overlooks the valley and is of great visual impact. For a truly rustic experience, you can get some supplies directly from one of the local grocery stores for a picnic in the shade of the beech trees or take advantage of the many picnic tables available along the way, where you can stop and enjoy a sandwich stuffed with local specialities while surrounded by the peace of the place.   

Monument of art and spiritual center of the city, the Sanctuary is an excellent example of Lombard Renaissance architecture

The Tinazzo is located in the Northern part of the old road which used to connect Cremona to Bergamo. The name Tinazzo derives from the pond which used to cover the area of the river Oglio. We have some news about the Parkdating back to the 16th Century, but in the 18th Century some new essences were introduced. The little Madonna delle Nevi Church, known as Madonna del Tinazzo, dates back to the same age of the park. It was built in 1510 and it presents a sober hut-shaped facade with a central portal and oculo. The internal part of the church is covered with some votive frescoes which date back to the 16th Century.

Santa Maria delle Grazie Church is located in the old  Calciana Road which connected Bergamo to Cremona. It was built in 1501 by the Carmelite Friars. In 1536 it became the private chapel of Stampa Family. In 1772, after the Edict issued by  Maria Teresa which eliminated the monasteries, the Carmelite Friars had to leave Soncino. Their Church started to deteriorate and in 1864, the Saint from Soncino Paola Elisabetta Cerioli, who founded the Suore della Sacra Famiglia, bought the monastery and the church and completely restored them. The church has a rectangular layout, a single nave and five chapels per side. The internal part is covered with frescos by Giulio Campi, Bernardino and Francesco Carminati and Francesco Scanzi (from Soncino).