Exploring UNESCO World Heritage Sites, from Bergamo to Brescia
As of March 2025, no country in the world has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than Italy, closely followed by China. Among Italy’s regions, Lombardy leads the way with ten sites, half of which are located in the provinces of Bergamo and Brescia.
To visit these sites is to delve into thousands of years of history. This journey through an extraordinary part of Italy is an opportunity to discover local treasures and the people who safeguard them.
Our trip begins in Bergamo, a city encircled by walls built between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Though their construction came at great cost to the city, these fortifications gave Bergamo the unique stone crown we admire today. Our journey continues through the homes and chimneys of Crespi d’Adda, a remarkable testament to the golden age of industrial Lombardy.
Crossing into the province of Brescia, we encounter ruins left behind by the so-called “barbarian” Longobards, who in the eighth century chose this city as their centre of religious, secular and spiritual power. Two more mysterious and evocative stops complete the tour: Valle Camonica, with its fascinating rock art inscribed in an ancestral language, and pile-dwelling sites on Lake Garda, which offer a glimpse into the daily lives of ancient local communities.
Steeped in history, natural beauty and urban landscapes well worth exploring, the provinces of Bergamo and Brescia are a veritable smorgasbord of discoveries and emotions for you to experience.
The author
Writer and journalist Massimo Tedeschi began his career as a correspondent for the “Bresciaoggi” daily newspaper before rising to become editor-in-chief of “Corriere della Sera”, for which he established and led the Brescia bureau. He is currently President of the Associazione Artisti Bresciani [Brescia Artists’ Association].
Tedeschi is the author of several books: Il Palazzo e la Città. Storia del Consiglio comunale di Brescia (1946–2006) (Grafo, 2008), Il Grande Flagello. Il Covid-19 a Bergamo e Brescia (Scholé, 2020), and thrillers La maledizione del numero 55 (2019) and Il giardino dei cedri (2022), both published by La Nave di Teseo.
He also wrote the travel guide Brescia adagio. Capitale industriale, capitale della cultura (2022), published by Enrico Damiani Editore.
