Bergamo, Diocese of

BERGAMO, Diocese of. - The city is composed of two nuclei, the upper city, which is the ancient one, containing the most important monuments, and the lower city, which has developed recently on the plain. It is the capital of a rich and active province (2759 sq. km.) and an episcopal see, suffragan of Milan. The diocese has 391 parishes, of which 27 are of the Ambrosian rite, and five autonomous vicariates, 1073 diocesan priests and 560,000 faithful (1948).

I. HISTORY

The city of B., which originated from Ligurian peoples, the Orobi, and then passed to the Etruscans, to the Gallic Cenomani, and around the zoo to the Romans, came to know Christianity at the end of the 3rd century. There is a record of a martyr from Bergamo: Alexander, on whom legend has worked a great deal; he became the patron of the diocese; on his tomb a basilica was erected, perhaps already in the 4th century.

The diocese arose in the first half of the 4th century. As testimony, in fact, of Bishop St. Rampertus of Brescia, the funeral plaque placed by the fourth bishop of B. to his predecessor recalled that the latter had been ordained deacon by St. Philastrius (d. before 397) and consecrated bishop by St. Ambrose (374-97), for which reason the first bishop of B. should be placed around 340. According to tradition, this would be St. Narnus, whom St. Viator succeeded, the tombs of both being found in 1561 when the ancient Cathedral was demolished. As for the other eight bishops whom tradition places in succession until the end of the 6th century, there are definite data for only four: Dominator and Stephen, easily identifiable with the third and fourth mentioned above, Prestantius who assisted at the Milanese Council of 451 against Eutyches, and Lawrence present at the Roman Council of 501. Here the list is interrupted, to resume at the middle of the 7th century with John who subscribed to the Roman Council of 679, whose work is linked to the apostolate among the Arians of B., then a Lombard ducal seat. The church of St. Vincent appears at this time, perhaps the seat of the Arian bishop (later cathedral with its own Chapter until 1667). At the beginnings of Frankish domination the first rural parish churches appear, with Telgate, Almenno, Caleppio, etc. Among the bishops of this period mention should be made of Adalbert (891-935), the rebuilder of the basilica of St. Alexander and of the city devastated by Arnulf king of Germany; with him began the civil jurisdiction of the bishop over the city, extended with Ambrose I (971-75), chancellor of Otto I in Italy, and with Ambrose II (1023-1057).

During the Gregorian reform the religious life of B., which suffered from the defection of Bishop Arnulf (1077-96), is entirely illuminated by the Cluniac monasteries of St. Giles in Fontanella and St. James in Pontida, by the Cassinese one of St. Paul d'Argon, by the Vallombrosan one of the Holy Sepulchre in Astino, and by the Cistercian one in Vallalta, in whose origins St. Bernard had a part. The communal period, which left in the traditions of B. the memory of a famous pact (Pontida), saw in the life of the Church painful uncertainties under Bishop Gerard (1146-67), but recorded the wise government of Gregory (1133-46), author of the pamphlet De veritate corporis Christi contra Berengarianos, of Guala (1168-86), of Giov. Tornielli who welcomed the Dominicans (1218) and the Franciscans (1230) into B., and of Giovanni Scanzo (1295-1309), whose Synod of 1304 is the first truly preserved in the history of B. This work was to be continued by the bishops of the Visconti period (1332-1428), among whom Francesco Regazzi distinguished himself, noted at the Councils of Constance and Basel, a fine figure as a peacemaker of factions, under whom the providential work of St. Bernardino of Siena began in B. With Venetian rule over B. (1428-1798), Pietro Lippomani (1517-44), who anticipated the reform work of the Council of Trent, opened a splendid line of bishops, among whom Federico Corner (1561-77) participated in the Council of Trent, welcomed the apostolic visit of St. Charles, and founded the seminary; the successors G. Regazzoni, G. B. Milani, G. Emo, F. Corner and L. Grimani followed the directives of the Council in the years 1577-1656, culminating in the work of Bl. Gregorio Barbarigo (1657-64) and of Daniele Giustiniani (1664-97). Of all of them the episcopal archive preserves the rich series of pastoral visits, documents most precious for the history of the diocese.

In the political upheavals of the last century, the bishops Gian Paolo Dolfin (1777-1819), cultured and zealous but somewhat yielding before the Revolution, Pier Luigi Speranza (1854-1879), who lived through the difficulties of the time of the Risorgimento with austere fortitude and saw numerous Bergamasque religious families arise, and Camillo Guindani (1879-1904), under whom B. had one of its best periods, especially for the splendid development of all the institutions stemming from the source Catholic Action, particularly distinguished themselves.

II. ART

The most interesting and ancient monuments are found in the upper part of the city. The Romanesque church of S. Maria Maggiore, built in 1137 on a design by the Comacine master Fredi, was enlarged and renovated up to the arrangement of the 17th century, no longer altered: the rich marble portal toward the Cathedral square, erected in 1353 by the Comacine Campilioni, is surmounted by two aedicules with figures of saints, of which the one facing south is by Campilioni the son (1360), and it is completed by a small temple and spire by Antonio di Alemagna (15th century). In the interior, in which the Renaissance and the Baroque have left their deep mark, notable are the frescoes by Cavagna with the help of Talpino and Zucca in the octagonal dome (1614), the tapestries of the 15th and 16th centuries after cartoons by Allori and by Luca van Schoor, the figured carvings of the choir after designs by Andrea Previtali and Alessandro Bonvicino, the railings by Camillo Capi, the bronze candelabra by Rizzetto da Brescia (1597), the 14th-century mausoleum of Cardinal Longo by Campilioni, the Baroque confessional by Fantoni (1706), the monument to Donizetti by Vela. Adjacent to it is the superb Colleoni chapel which Antonio Amadeo (v.) built between 1470 and 1476: the facade, several times reworked and enriched, is precious with marbles and sculptures. In the interior, where in the octagonal dome there are frescoes by Tiepolo, there is the monument of Colleoni, in pure Lombard Renaissance lines with rich sculptures and bas-reliefs, surmounted by the equestrian statue in gilded wood by Sisto Siry of Nuremberg (1501), and that of Medea Colleoni of Tuscan inspiration, the Baroque altar by Andrea Manni (1676) and the small 14th-century octagonal baptistery with interesting sculptures by Campilioni (1340) reassembled here in 1898.

The Cathedral arose in place of a temple of the 6th century through the initiative of Filarete (second half of the 15th century) and was profoundly modified in 1680 by Fontana: the interior, in the form of a Latin cross and with a single nave, surmounted by the dome by Crivelli (1853), is rich in decorations and Baroque altars, among which is the grandiose one by Filippo Alessandri, in pulpits of alabaster and precious marbles, in a ciborium by Cesare Targoni (1558) and in valuable paintings.

Among the many churches are interesting: S. Pancrazio, earlier than the 10th century but several times restored and with a fine portal; "S. Grata inter vites" (8th century) renovated by Achille Alessandri (1750); the very ancient S. Alessandro della Croce rebuilt in Baroque style (1630); S. Michele, nicknamed dell'Arco because it is raised on a Roman arch dedicated to Nero; S. Spirito, earlier than 1500 but rebuilt in 1521; S. Agostino built in the 15th century in Gothic forms; the Baroque "S. Grata in via"; the ancient basilica of S. Andrea rebuilt, according to neoclassical taste (1840). The oldest church of the lower city is S. Alessandro in Colonna, rebuilt in 1447.

Outside this center, the churches of particular artistic interest are: S. Michele al Pozzo Bianco, both for the frescoes by Lotto and for those recently discovered dating back to the 13th century; S. Agostino (used for military purposes) for its majestic Lombard-Gothic facade; S. Spirito for the nobility of its design (Renaissance) and for the rich collection of valuable paintings by Lotto, Previtali, Borgognone, G. Carpioni, etc. Beside it stood the monastery of the Celestines, passed in 1475 to the Canons Regular Lateranense and then suppressed, which owed its origin to Cardinal G. Longo (1240-1319), also founder of the abbey of the Celestines of St. Niccolò, equally suppressed. The churches of S. Alessandro della Croce and of S. Alessandro in Colonna are distinguished, after these, by their numerous paintings of value, which are not lacking also in others, such as a panel by Moretto in S. Andrea, and the altarpiece of the high altar of S. Bartolomeo coming from the distinguished Dominican monastery of S. Stefano destroyed in 1561.

Among the recently built churches, worthy of note are the Temple to the Fallen of the Great War (Arch. Galizzi) and that of the Vittoria (Arch. Angelini).

In the diocese, distinguished for historical and artistic importance are: at Gandino the monumental basilica of Bertera and the precious vestments collected in a special museum; at Alzano the works of sculpture and carving by Grazioso and Andrea Fantoni and the inlays of G. B. Caniana; at Fontanella the basilica of the Cluniac abbey; at Almenno the entire archaeological-artistic center with the ancient churches of S. Tomé, S. Maria del Castello, and S. Giorgio.

The Accademia Carrara, with the very rich collections of its picture gallery, completes the artistic heritage of sacred B.

Among the cultural resources, alongside the Civic library begun by Cardinal G. Alessandro Furietti (1685-1764) and enriched by the libraries of the Cathedral Chapter and of suppressed monasteries, the diocese has at its disposal the library of the clergy of S. Alessandro and that of the seminary, the archives of the Cathedral Chapter, and of the episcopal curia with documents from 976. A museum of sacred art is being formed alongside the city museums of Bergamasque antiquities, of the Risorgimento, of Donizetti, and of natural history.

The musical tradition of B. also found in sacred music a noteworthy affirmation in the chapel of S. Maria, to which masters of fame such as S. Moyr, A. Ponchielli, G. Mattioli, A. Donini have passed. The Catholic newspaper L'Eco di Bergamo bears witness to the manifold activity of the Catholic organization, which was among the pioneers of Italy and which established itself vigorously in the social field.

Art: M. Mattioni, B., Milan n.d.; G. Secco Suardo, Il Palazzo della Ragione in B. ed edifici ad esso adiacenti, Bergamo 1901; A. Pinetti, La decorazione pittorica secentesca di S. Maria

Maggiore, ibid. 1916; V. E. Gasdia, S. Alessandro della Croce, ibid. 1924; A. Pinetti, Il Teorico della basilica di S. Maria Maggiore, ibid. 1925; id., Il confessionale di Andrea Fantoni in S. Maria Maggiore, ibid. 1926; id., La collaborazione di un oralo piacentino in una Croce del Duomo di B., Piacenza 1926; R. Papini, B. rinnovata, Bergamo 1929; A. Morassi, La Galleria dell'Accademia Carrara in B., Rome 1934; P. Pesenti, La basilica di S. Maria Maggiore in B., Bergamo 1936; B. L. Angelini, Il Chiostro di S. Maria in B., ibid. 1936; G. Antonucci, Per la cronistoria della chiesa di S. Stefano, in Bergomum, 3 (1936), pp. 198-99; G. Giovannoni, Il Chiostro di S. Maria a B., in Rass. di Archit., 8, 9 (1936), p. 331; A. Selvelli, L'antico convento francescano di B., Bergamo 1938; A. Levi, Il museo romano nella Rocca di B., ibid. 1938; I. Negrisoli, B. romana, in Bergomum, 4 (1938), pp. 151-185; L. Angelini, Recenti restauri di edifici monumentali berg., in Atti del III Conv. naz. di st. dell'archit., 1938, pp. 383-90; id., Vicende e restauri della chiesa e convento di S. Nicolò ai Celestini, Bergamo 1939; S. Locatelli, B. vecchia e nuova, ibid. 1941; N. Degrassi, Scoperta di una strada romana. Il reticolato stradale di B., in Not. degli Scavi, 66 (1941), pp. 311-18; G. Locatelli, Per lo studio della cappella di Bartolomeo Colleoni, Bergamo 1943. Antonio Giuliani - Fabia Borroni

III. S. PAOLO D'ARGON

An ancient Cluniac priory, founded around 1081 by the count of Bergamo Gialberto, first at Sarnico, then at its present site, now in the commune of Cenate d'Argon, 11 km. from B. The church was consecrated in 1198. Alexander VI in 1493 united the monastery with the Congregation of St. Giustina, which restored and embellished it. Suppressed in the Napoleonic era, the beautiful Basilica, now a parish church, was stripped of its most precious objects, and the monastery with its two graceful cloisters changed owners several times. At present it belongs to the diocese of B. - See Pl. LXXXIII.

Tommaso Leccinotti