In 1561 the Venetians demolished the great church of Santo Stefano to build the walls of Bergamo: the friars were scattered and eight of them were left, put up elsewhere. In 1572 they obtained the small church of San Bartolomeo, and since then the building has carried both names. The works saved from the destroyed church were brought here and reassembled as best they could be.
What to see
Among them is the Martinengo altarpiece by Lorenzo Lotto, the largest painting the Venetian ever made, the masterpiece of his Bergamo years: a Madonna enthroned with the child and a crown of saints, set in the apse basin in an attempt to reproduce the position it had before.
The rest of the interior is of the seventeenth century, with a single nave, side altars and wooden choir stalls; standing at the end of the Sentierone, it is one of the buildings that close the scene of the lower town. The removal of four centuries ago left traces: some parts of the old furnishings were lost and others were adapted.
Visiting
The church is at the end of the Sentierone, in the centre of lower Bergamo, ten minutes from the funicular to the upper town; free entry with hours tied to services and closing in the early afternoon. Half an hour.
Our editors' tip
Look at the altarpiece bearing in mind that it was moved: a painting of that size cannot be moved without consequences, and fitting it into an apse other than the one it was conceived for meant changing its relation to the space. It is Lotto's largest picture, and at bottom it is a picture without a home.