This smart Bergamo hotel is in an ideal position
In the heart of Bergamo’s Città Bassa (lower town), the comfortable Arli Hotel provides an ideal base for exploring the city and surrounding area.
Situated in Largo Porta Nuova, the three-star hotel is about half way between the railway station and the funicolare (funicular station) for the Città Alta (upper town), approximately 400 metres from them both.
Arli Hotel in Largo Porta Nuova |
It is very close to the stops for buses to the Città Alta and the airport at Orio al Serio and is handy for some of the best shops and restaurants in the Città Bassa.
The Arli Hotel has a bright, welcoming reception area, which leads into La Delizia restaurant. There is also a dedicated internet room on the ground floor.
There is a lift to the 66 bedrooms and guests can opt for single, double or king size accommodation.
Editor’s note: “When I stayed at the Arli Hotel I was impressed with both the comfort of the bed and pillows and the selection of food offered at the buffet breakfast, which was included in the price of the room.”
For more information, to check prices and to book a room at the Arli Hotel, try our booking partners Hotels.com and Expedia UK.
For more information, to check prices and to book a room at the Arli Hotel, try our booking partners Hotels.com and Expedia UK.
Why stay at Arli Hotel in Bergamo?
The Arli Hotel is in an excellent location in Bergamo, handy for some of the best bars, restaurants and shops.
The Arli Hotel also has its own wine bar and guests can use the facilities of the Fit and Well Spa. There is free car parking for guests and room service is available after 10.30 pm for late arriving visitors.
Book a room at the Arli Hotel, Bergamo with Expedia UK.
Book a room at the Arli Hotel, Bergamo with Expedia UK.
What to see near the Arli Hotel
The beautiful church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is on the corner of Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII and Porta Nuova, with its 19th century green cupola topped with a golden statue. The origins of the church go back to 1422 when a convent was built on the site. The beautiful cloisters have been preserved within the church buildings, although the convent was suppressed at the beginning of the 19th century.
Porta Nuova with the upper town in the background |
The distinctive Propilei di Porta Nuova, two buildings that look like small temples, were designed by Ferdinando Crivelli in the mid 19th century and built on the site of one of the gates of the muraine, the name for the old city walls that used to run through the Città Bassa.
Via Sentierone is a popular place for la passeggiata. The Sentierone, which means broad path, links Piazza Vittorio Veneto with Via Torquato Tasso, a road that leads into the oldest part of the Città Bassa.
The Donizetti monument, set back from Via Sentierone in Piazza Cavour, was erected in 1897 to commemorate the first anniversary of Donizetti’s birth. An imposing structure in white marble, it depicts the composer sitting on a bench gazing at the figure of a female playing the lyre. Set in the middle of a pond and surrounded by plants and trees, the monument is inscribed simply ‘A Gaetano Donizetti’.
La Chiesa dei Santi Bartolomeo e Stefano, at the corner of Via Torquato Tasso and Largo Bortolo Belotti, provides an impressive backdrop for Via Sentierone. Inside are some beautiful 18th century frescoes, but it is difficult not to be drawn straight to the magnificent altarpiece, Madonna with Child and Saints painted in 1513 by Lorenzo Lotto. The painting is also sometimes referred to as Pala Martinengo as it was commissioned by Alessandro Martinengo Colleoni, the nephew and adopted ‘son’ of condottiero Bartolomeo Colleoni.
Palazzo della Provincia in Via Torquato Tasso is Bergamo’s seat of provincial government. Built between 1864 and 1871, it was the first public work to be carried out in Bergamo after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy . The new building was designed on a grand scale to house both the offices of the provincial administration and the prefecture of police. On the facade you will notice five carvings depicting significant events and personalities in Bergamo’s history.
La Chiesa di Santo Spirito in Piazzetta Santo Spirito is considered the most important religious Renaissance building in the Città Bassa. It was converted from an original 14th century church by the Venetian born architect Pietro Isabello in 1530 on behalf of some of the rich merchant families in Bergamo . The fine Renaissance design is more striking inside where there is a nave and ten side chapels divided by tall columns. Santo Spirito houses Enthroned Madonna with Saints and Angels, painted by Lorenzo Lotto in 1521.
Directions:
The Arli Hotel can be found in Largo Porta Nuova, just off Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII, the main thoroughfare that leads from the station up to the Città Alta. It can be reached on foot or by bus or taxi from the station, or by bus and taxi from the airport at Orio al Serio.
Restaurant recommendation:
La Ciotola is a short walk away from Arli Hotel in Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII in the centre of the Città Bassa. La Ciotola, which means ‘the bowl’, offers specialities such as gnocchi with fennel in a cream sauce and risotto with truffles in red wine. There are fish and chicken dishes and a long pizza list, or you could try the local favourite of veal with mushrooms and polenta.
Local specialities:
Try casoncelli alla bergamasca ( Bergamo’s own version of stuffed pasta), polenta taragna (polenta with Taleggio cheese) and stinco al forno (pork shank braised in red wine with vegetables and herbs).
Local wines:
White: Try Valcalepio Bianco, a light dry wine with a delicate fragrance, produced in the small valley between Bergamo and Lago d’Iseo.
Red: Valcalepio Rosso is dry and soft with an intense scent. It is placed on sale every year after 1 November following six months’ refinement in wooden casks. It goes well with red meat, game and polenta and local cheeses, such as taleggio.
Shopping:
One of the main thoroughfares in the Città Bassa in Bergamo is Via XX Settembre, which leads from Piazza Vittorio Veneto in the centre to Largo Nicolo Rezzara at the lower end of Via Sant’Alessandro.
Dubbed ‘the shopping street’ by the Bergamaschi because of the wealth of smart shops that line both sides, Via XX Settembre is actually named after an important event in Italy’s history.
It was on 20 September 1870 that Italian troops under Victor Emanuel II finally entered Rome and completed the unification of Italy .
Rome had remained under French control even after the first Italian parliament had proclaimed Victor Emanuel King of Italy, despite repeated events by nationalists to liberate it.
But after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war Napoleon III withdrew his troops. Italian soldiers seized their chance and after a brief bombardment were able to enter Rome through a breach in the walls at Porta Pia.
Victor Emanuel took up residence in the Quirinale Palace and Italy was declared officially united.
These days shoppers celebrate the anniversary by visiting the top establishments that grace the elegant street such as Calvin Klein, Stefanel, Benetton, Max Mara, Luisa Spagnoli, Marina Rinaldi and Sisley.
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