The palazzo della Ragione is of the twelfth century and is one of the oldest town halls in Italy. It stands in between, dividing piazza Vecchia from piazza del Duomo, and joins them with an open portico: you pass underneath and go from a lay square, with the town hall and the library, to a religious square, with the cathedral and the Colleoni chapel. Two worlds ten metres apart.
What to see
On the front towards piazza Vecchia is the lion of Saint Mark, sign of the Venetian rule that lasted centuries in Bergamo: the original was destroyed when the Republic fell, and the present one was put back in the twentieth century. An external covered stair climbs to the upper floor, where the great hall is used today for exhibitions and events.
Under the portico, set in the floor, there is a meridian line drawn at the end of the eighteenth century: a ray of sun comes through a hole in the vault and at solar noon falls exactly on the line, marking the day of the year along the scale of months cut in the stone. It still works.
Visiting
The palace is in piazza Vecchia, in Città Alta, five minutes from the funicular; the portico can always be walked through and is free, while the hall upstairs opens for exhibitions, with a ticket. Half an hour.
Our editors' tip
If you are in the square around midday, go under the portico and look for the metal line in the floor: wait a few minutes and you will see the point of light move and cross it. It is an eighteenth-century scientific instrument still working without maintenance, among people walking past without noticing.