The town of Bergamo is divided into two distinct parts, the “Lower City” and the “Upper City”; the latter is located at a higher altitude and houses the majority of the most significant monuments, while the Lower Town – although it is also of ancient origin and retains its historic nuclei – has been partly made more modern by some urbanization interventions . The two portions of the town are separated by the Venetian walls, which have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017 .

Bergamo is nicknamed “the city of the Thousand” due to the large number of volunteers from Bergamo – about 180 – who took part in the expedition of the Thousand led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, a crucial episode of the Risorgimento.