Bergamo - Palazzo della Ragione

Bergamo was the settlement of a Celtic tribe but got conquered by the Romans in 196 BC. Looted by Attila´s troops in the 5th century, it became the capital of a Lombardian duchy a century later. After the conquest of the Lombard Kingdom by Charlemagne, the Franks ruled here.

End of the 11th century Bergamo had become an independent commune, with a lot of feuding between the local the Guelph and Ghibelline factions.

In 1428 Bergamo was ceded in 1428 by the Duchy of Milan to the Republic of Venice and was transformed into a fortified city, protecting the trade routes leading into the Rhine Valley.

The French Revolutionary Army ended more than three centuries of Venetian rule in 1797. Bergamo was part of the "Cisalpine Republic".
At Congress of Vienna, Bergamo was assigned to the (Austrian) Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia. Giuseppe Garibaldi conquered Bergamo in 1859. The city was incorporated into the newly founded Kingdom of Italy.

Bergamo has two centres: Città alta ("upper city"), a hilltop medieval town, and the Città bassa ("lower city").

In the center of the Città alta is the old town hall "Palazzo della Ragione" (aka "Palazzo Vecchio"), erected 1183 - 1198. It burnt down and got rebuilt at least twice over the centuries.

The open ground floor served as a market hall, but it was as well as the place for public trials. There are some very interesting capitals here. This one is near the adjoining Duomo.