We all got up early to pack, have breakfast and run a few little errands in lovely Trento. Amy had to go to the post office so Kev and I walked with her there. Kev went back to Aquila D’Oro to finish packing and I went in search of a little present we could leave for sweet Fiona who had been so kind to us. Mission accomplished—I got her a 5 euro bag of mixed candies and they even put a nice ribbon on it for us. I was thrilled to be walking the lively streets of Trento by myself. Check out was easy and we were on our was to Bergamo. I think the drive took us a little over 2 hours and shocking, given the paltry direction we had–we didn’t get lost, at all.
The little apartment we rented at the Hotel Il Gourmet is just fine although it took Kenny about 15 minutes to get the air conditioning to work and communication was difficult with the staff.
We met our dear friend, Massimo, at a little coffee/bakery right down the hill from us—5 minutes walk.


Kind of a crazy scene there with lots of kids coming in to buy candy or gelato. And the waiter insisting that we learn Bregamasco dialect instead of the Italian we are already struggling with. We also got 4 little pastries to taste including the local polentina which is a little cake made to look like a pile of polenta with a tiny animal on top—either a pig or bird. It was mostly marzipan and tasty but Massimo tells us it’s just for tourists.
With Massimo as our private guide we walked through the crowded streets of the citta alta.

He told us some of the history, religious significance and some personal notes. We even got to visit his high school. Highlights for me were going into the special Tasso library where he has done so much of his work becoming an expert on the 16th century poet from Bergamo. Look closely and you can see that these, very well dressed, women are trying to read and interpret an old text. The pages were partially transparent and the old hand written words were brown.

Here’s Kev and Massimo posing with Tasso in the library:

This picture is for Anthony and Lyn—Massimo with his poet, Tasso.

We spent a while in the Colleoni chapel, an over the top example of Baroque. Colleoni was a very rich and self important mercenary. And we went into the Santa Maria Magiore church right beside it which is also full of incredible details. The were doing some interesting restoration work there. The exterior was chock full of detail in marble. Massimo had us touch, for good luck, a symbol of 3 balls which stand for Colleoni.



We walked on to the other side of the citta alta learning and gaping with interest the whole way. Finally we gave up—so tired and Ken and I really needed a shower before our visit to Massimo’s parents.
Massimo picked us up at the hotel and drove us to his parents home which is really beautiful. They have lots of cool art on the walls and the themselves could not have been sweeter. We ate outside on their patio in the fresh air. His mom cooked and the dad helped clean up. She made pasta with pesto (yes, just what I have been craving!) and then we had some cold meets and cheese with bread and salad. We brought the wine we’ve been carrying around with us and it was good.
After dinner we went on a short walk with Massimo and his mom. I felt great walking beside her talking about our families like old friends. We are truly so extremely fond of Massimo and I think she can tell that beyond our words. He drove us home and we chatted with Amy and Kev for a very little while before getting into the welcome bed.