Etappe 19 - vrijdag 27 mei Vertrekpunt: Bergamo - Macugnaga Afstand: 211 km

BERGAMO
A town with two separated souls. The upper town (Bergamo alta), is the old town, embraced by five kilometers of walls and the lower town (Bergamo bassa), is the vibrating heart of commercial life. The heart of the upper town beats in piazza Vecchia, one of the most fascinating in the world according to Le Corbusier. A Renaissance area dominated by the Contarini fountain, which dates back to the end of the eighteenth-century, and by other historical buildings: the Palazzo del Podestà Veneto and the Palazzo della Ragione, nowadays seat of artistic exhibitions. On another side of the square stands the Romanesque Duomo with a Baroque inside, a precious silver cross dating back to the end of the sixteenth-century and valuable paintings, among which the Martirio di San Giovanni by the Tiepolo. And above all buildings rises the medieval tower of the Municipality which, still nowadays, at 10.00 pm tolls a hundred rings in the memory of when the portals of town were closed. Unmissable is San Michele al Pozzo Bianco, a small church with Lombard origins, reconstructed in Romanesque style which hosts medieval frescoes, also in the crypt which is the earliest in town. Sightseers can visit the Vita di Maria cycle by Lorenzo Lotto. Among the prides of lower town the Teatro Donizzetti is worth being mentioned, which nowadays is the location for a famous international piano festival. Another spot of interest is the nearby church of San Bartolomeo, which dates back to the seventeenth-century, with an altarpiece painted by Lotto.

FROM BERGAMO TO MACUGNAGA

Monza
Villa Reale, connected to down town by the Boschetti, it has been built in 1777 by the archduke Ferdinando, son of Maria Teresa d’Austria. Sightseers can visit the chapel, with a  gallery reserved to the royal family, the Rotonda, frescoed by Andrea Appiani, the Teatrino di Corte, the Serrone, an ancient orange greenhouse, now seat of exhibitions, and the magnificent rose garden which in May offers an explosion of scents and colors. The Park, ordered by Napoleon in 1805, is the largest belted green area in Europe (750 hectares enclosed by 16 kilometers of walls). A magnificent space with farmhouses, patrician houses, among which Villa Mirabello, and contemporary artworks en plein air.

Arona
Arona is the native town of San Carlo Borromeo to which the symbol monument of town, the San Carlone, is dedicated, a giant copper statue silhouetted on the Sacro Monte di San Carlo. Inside the statue a staircase leads from the feet to the head, which can host several persons, offering a splendid scenic view on Arona and the Lago Maggiore. The heart of the medieval town is piazza del Popolo with the Church of Santa Maria di Loreto and the Broletto.

Omegna
On the northern shore of the Lago d’Orta, Omegna boasts the beautiful piazza XXV Aprile embraced by buildings belonging to different ages, among which the Casa dei Bazzetta de Vemania, where Manzoni and D’Azeglio spent some time. Next to the Collegiate Church, which is worth a visit for the remarkable wooden crucifix which dates back to the fifteenth-century, there is the former industrial area which hosts the Parco della Fantasia, dedicated to the writer Gianni Rodari and which houses the Forum, cultural centre with a permanent exhibition on local crafts and industry.