Travel Guide to Caravaggio
Ultima modifica 15 ottobre 2024
Located in the heart of the Lombardy region in northern Italy, Caravaggio is well connected with the cities of Bergamo, Milan, and Brescia. The town is best known for its main sight, the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Fonte, also known as the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Caravaggio. Lately, more and more inhabitants of communities in the province of Bergamo and in Lombardy have chosen Caravaggio as their travel Destination and have discovered that the town is a place of historic, artistic, cultural interest and natural beauty really worth visiting. The name of our town has become known in the world as the famous Italian Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi used the name Caravaggio to sign his paintings, perhaps as a symbolic reference of feelings of identity and belonging to his parents’ hometown. The history of Caravaggio has been blessed with art. It sets it apart as not just another small town, but a town of remarkable beauty. So, wait no longer, come, and delve into the town’s history, culture and much more!
How to reach us
By car
A35 Motorway (Autostrada A35 BreBeMi) connecting Brescia-Bergamo-Milan, exit for Caravaggio.
A1 Motorway (Autostrada A1), exit for Lodi in the direction of Brescia-Bergamo. The motorway exit is approximately 30 minutes from Caravaggio.
A4 Motorway (Autostrada A4), exit for Seriate if driving from Brescia, or exit for Dalmine if driving from Milan. Both motorway exits are approximately 30 minutes from Caravaggio.
By train
Caravaggio has a railway station on the Milan-Cremona line. This line links Caravaggio to Treviglio Central Station (Treviglio Centrale), which is one of Lombardy railway hubs approximately 24 km (14.91 mi) away.
Caravaggio is served by another train station in the neighbouring village Vidalengo, 2.9 km (1.8 mi) from our town, on the line Milan-Verona
By bus
Caravaggio is served by bus lines which link it to Bergamo, Treviglio and Chiari, in the province of Brescia.
By plane
Caravaggio is served by Il Caravaggio International Airport (BGY, also called Milan-Bergamo by several airlines) located in the municipal territory of Orio al Serio, less than 30 km (18.63 mi) from Caravaggio and close to Bergamo. A good number of low-cost airlines operate international flights to and from the airport which also is the main Ryanair hub in Italy.
Useful information
Region: Lombardy
Province: Bergamo
Coordinates: 45°29′52″N 9°38′35″E
Territorial subdivisions (frazioni): Vidalengo, Masano
Elevation: 111m (364 ft)
Neighbouring towns: Caravaggio borders with the municipalities of Brignano Gera D’Adda and Pagazzano to the north, Bariano to the northeast, Fornovo San Giovanni and Mozzanica to the east, Sergnano and Capralba to the south, Misano Gera D’Adda, Calvenzano and Treviglio to the west.
Area: 32.81 km2 (12 sq mi)
Postal code: 24043
International dialling code: 0039 0363
Distance from main cities: 5 km (3.10 mi) from Treviglio; 24 km (14.91 mi) from Bergamo; 39 km (24.22 mi) from Milan; 52 km (32.3 mi) from Brescia; 60 km (37.27 mi) from Cremona
Diocese: Cremona
The first discovered document citing a village named Caravaggio dates back to 962 AD. There are no records of earlier human settlements in the area where the town lies today. Caravaggio is part of the geographic area named Gera D’Adda, a strip of the Lombardy plain lying between the rivers Adda and Serio, which now coincides with 18 municipalities pertaining to the present-day provinces of Bergamo, Cremona, and Milan. In 1182, Caravaggio was the first one among the villages in the Gera D’Adda which was designated as comune, a sort of self-governing community which paved the way for present-day municipality. The villages in Gera D’Adda were under the economic and political jurisdiction of Caravaggio, which had been designated regional capital of that area. It is clear then that the history of Caravaggio is intertwined with the history of the Gera D’Adda. With the character of a buffer region between the Duchy of Milan and the Venetian Republic, this area passed from one rule to another, subsequently coming under the domination of the Duchy of Milan, the Venetian Republic, Spain, France, and Austria. Many buildings and works of art in our town bear testimony to the long period of multiple dominations. One example is Palazzo Gallavresi, the present-day town hall, which was the seat of the town administration and the Marchioness Palace in the past. On 26 May 1432, the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared to a peasant woman in the fields of Caravaggio. This was the place where the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Fonte, also known as Sanctuary of Our Lady of Caravaggio, was built. Over time, it became one of the most important worship places dedicated to the Virgin Mary in northern Italy. The name Caravaggio later became known outside Italy, as the veneration of Our Lady of Caravaggio spread to other countries in the world, especially to South America, Africa and Australia where religious communities came into being and worship places for Our Lady of Caravaggio were built. Over a century after the apparition of the Virgin Mary, a Caravaggio-based noblewoman, Lucia Aratori, who had discovered her son’s superior talent in painting, sent him to Milan, where he trained under the painter Simone Peterzano. Her son was Michelangelo Merisi, the exceptionally gifted Baroque painter who blessed the world with his outstanding paintings and made the name Caravaggio known all over the world by using it in his signature. In September 1954, Caravaggio received its coat of arms with a Royal Decree. The shield in the coat of arms is divided by a black line into four quarters, two red and two silver, and it is topped with a mural crown and surrounded by one laurel twig and one oak twig, tied together with a ribbon with the colours of Italy which stand for the city itself. In 1954 Caravaggio was declared a City (città) with a Decree by the President of the Italian Republic Luigi Einaudi, due to its historic importance. It is ranked the seventh-most populous city and the tenth-largest city out of 243 municipalities in the province of Bergamo. The area where Caravaggio lies is mostly rural, with the built-up area extending around the historic centre and along the main roads. Its two frazioni (territorial subdivisions), Vidalengo and Masano, lie a few kilometres away.
Michelangelo Merisi
Michelangelo Merisi is a world-famous and loved artist, perhaps one of the biggest household names. Even laymen having the faintest idea about Italian artists can recognize Michelangelo’s paintings, his style, his use of lighting and shadows and his use of realistic figures. Caravaggio’s oeuvre reflects his tumultuous life and it has been conducive to the spread of legends and mystery surrounding his person: a lot has been said and written, but much is still unknown. The birth records found in the Basilica of Santo Stefano in Brolo, also known as the Basilica of Santo Stefano Maggiore, Milan, confirmed that Michelangelo was born in the city of Milan, perhaps on 29 September 1571. The painter was probably named after St. Michele Arcangelo, the archangel Michael celebrated on the day of his birth. His family, however, originally came from Caravaggio. According to some researchers, his father, Fermo Merisi, was probably a master architect employed in the construction work of the Milan Cathedral; according to others, he was a household-administrator employed by the Marquises Sforza from Caravaggio. Michelangelo’s mother, Lucia Aratori, was born into a wealthy and influential family, her father being one of the trustees of the Marquises Sforza. Marquis Francesco Sforza and one member of the noble family of Secco d’Aragona were best men at Fermo and Lucia’s wedding, held in the church of San Giovanni Battista in Caravaggio. This episode sheds light on the extent of influence that the Aratoris had. The town of Caravaggio played a prominent role throughout Michelangelo Merisi’s life. The young artist spent his childhood in this town, where he grew up appreciating the paintings by local artists like Prata, Polidoro and Moietta and many others. The paintings not only encouraged him to become a painter but also heavily influenced his oeuvre. Although Caravaggio has no original paintings by Michelangelo Merisi as they are disseminated in museums across the world, the town attracts tourists who want to visit the places where the artist grew up, even today.
Other artists
Long before Michelangelo Merisi made a name for himself all over the world, Caravaggio had been the birthplace of many a prominent artist who, throughout the centuries, established themselves in the most diverse fields, from painting to sculpture and music to literature. This aspect should not be overlooked when we reflect on the connection between Michelangelo Merisi and his hometown, and therefore on the influence of the town and local artists on the famous painter in his youth. You can learn more about the lives of Caravaggio’s diverse major artists, below.
NICOLA MOIETTA
Born at the end of the 15th century, Nicola Marangone, known as il Moietta, was an apprentice to the painters Zenale and Butinone. At the beginning of the 16th century he was active in Milan. Little is known about his whereabouts and his artistic work during that period. He certainly painted the great cycle of frescoes in the church of Santa Maria Annunziata in Abbiategrasso, near Milan, but one can explore his works also in the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle lacrime in Treviglio, a town close to Caravaggio, and in other parts of our town, like two altarpiece panel paintings. The former, an Adoration of the shepherds, is in the parish church of Saints Fermo and Rustico; the latter, a Sacra conversazione (sacred conversation), is part of the picture gallery in Palazzo Gallavresi (town hall). Interestingly enough, Moietta signed the Sacra conversazione as nicolaus caravaginus (Nicola from Caravaggio) fifty years before Michelangelo Merisi, who would also use the name of the town as pseudonym, was born. Inside the church of San Bernardino Moietta painted St. Francis in Glory in an unusual style and one Ecce Homo (behold the man) at the bottom of Fermo Stella’s great Cycle of Passion. The frescoes were restored in 1944 and in 2019, respectively.
FRANCESCO PRATA
Francesco Prata’s style was highly influenced by the style of the painter Girolamo Romanino, although it remains unclear as to how Prata became acquainted with him and became familiar with his style. Knowledge about Prata’s life is scanty and incomplete, but he is known to have worked mainly in the area of Brescia, where he had moved around 1510. He kept travelling between Brescia and Caravaggio, maintaining a strong bond between him and his roots. Information about his life after 1531 is unknown. In Caravaggio, Prata frescoed the Holy Sacrament Chapel in the parish church of Saints Fermo and Rustico. He painted twelve apostles and several putti at the bottom of the dome. The parapet in the fresco reads de prato, clearing any doubt about the artist who created it. On the altarpiece panel is a Deposition from the Cross by Prata.
FERMO STELLA
Apprentice to painter and sculptor Gaudenzio Ferrari, Fermo Stella was active mainly in the Valtellina region of Lombardy. Nevertheless, he has left significant artworks in Caravaggio. He painted the Cycle of Passion, an imposing fresco (roughly 80-square-metre broad) on the partition behind the altar in the church of San Bernardino in Caravaggio. In 2019 a restoration was carried out to treat water seepage and dampness and helped re-establish the original condition of the fresco. An earlier sacred fresco by Fermo Stella, which most probably dates back to 1515, is in the church of San Bernardino. It is the Madonna with Child between Saint Bernardino and Saint Rocco. At the bottom there is a rebus, a puzzle device combining pictures and letters, which enables the viewers, if not to decipher completely, at least to guess the approximate date of the painting and the name of the artist. Fermo Stella developed a unique style, distinguished by recurring patterns and references to his earlier works.
POLIDORO CALDARA
Born in Caravaggio at the beginning of the 16th century, Polidoro Caldara was not active in his hometown as he moved to Rome when he was fifteen years old. At the beginning of his career he joined Raphael’s workshop decorating the Vatican Logge and proved himself to be incredibly talented. He also painted the façades of several palaces in Rome using the sgraffito technique. Thereafter he moved to Naples and then to Messina, Sicily, where he would be murdered by one of his pupils during an attempted robbery.
GIOVANNI MORIGGIA
Born into a wealthy family from Caravaggio, Giovanni Moriggia trained at the Accademia Carrara, the art gallery and academy of fine arts in Bergamo, after Accademia’s Director Giuseppe Diotti had encouraged him to enrol.
His first masterpiece was the decoration of the lunette with Caravaggio patron saints Fermo and Rustico above the gate of the church dedicated to the two saints.
Liberal and a devoted follower of Mazzini’s ideology, he met with hostilities and ended up in trouble. Following this, he had no other choice but to initially head back to Caravaggio and hide in the Manusardis’ house, and then to flee to Switzerland. Moriggia painted several portraits for his benefactors Raffaele Manusardi and Giulietta Fusi. One of them, a portrait of Giulietta, is in the picture gallery of Palazzo Gallavresi (town hall).
The artist is known in Caravaggio for the frescoes in the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Fonte, one of the most important worship places dedicated to the Virgin Mary in northern Italy. In the Sanctuary, he was initially commissioned the painting of the four dome pendentives with scenes from the life of the Bible figures Ruth, Abigail, Esther, and Judith. Following that, the Sanctuary’s administration entrusted Moriggia with the frescoes on the inside of the dome, where he painted a Glory of the Trinity and an Apotheosis of the Mother of God. Later the painter was commissioned to paint the church transept. He worked on the frescoes of the Sanctuary from 1844 to 1862. Some of the original drawings are exhibited in the picture gallery of Palazzo Gallavresi in town.
Moriggia spent the last fifteen years of his life in Caravaggio, where he died in 1878 in poor health and unable to paint.
LUIGI CAVENAGHI
Luigi Cavenaghi was a portrait painter and was regarded as the greatest painting restorer of his time.
Cavenaghi trained and studied at the Accademia di Brera, the fine art academy in Milan, thanks to a scholarship awarded by the Municipality of Caravaggio. Following his training, he painted frescoes in several churches in Milan Metropolitan area. Together with Giovanni Moriggia, Cavenaghi worked on the painting of the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Fonte in Caravaggio. There he frescoed the nave walls and the choir, following Tibaldi’s style, the architect who had designed the church.
In 1901 Cavenaghi started working on the restoration of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper, in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. After that work, he was held in so high esteem that he was appointed the artistic director of the Vatican Pinacoteca. Cavenaghi restored the frescoes by Andrea Mantegna in the Camera degli Sposi (bridal chamber) in Mantua, as well.
He is buried in the Caravaggio cemetery of Sant’Eusebio, where his grave is adorned with one sculpture by Danielli.
ENRICO PANCERA
Born in Caravaggio, Pancera studied and trained in Milan, like many other local artists, where he first attended the School of Fine Arts applied to Industry of Sforza Castle, and later the Accademia di Brera. Later he became a professor at the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo. He was a sculptor creating cemetery art. In 1932 in Monza, Lombardy, he created the memorial to Italian soldiers fallen in First World War consisting in twelve five-to-six-metre-high bronze statues. Pancera’s sculptures are kept in many cemeteries, such as the Cimitero Monumentale and the Cimitero Maggiore, the two main cemeteries in Milan, as well as in other places of art such as the Milan Cathedral.
Pancera’s sculptures are disseminated in Caravaggio as well. Two of them, the Funerale Alpestre (Alpine Funeral) and the Christ standing on a page of the Gospel are kept in the town cemetery of Sant’Eusebio. A third piece of art, a bronze plaque dedicated to Luigi Cavenaghi’s memory, is kept in Palazzo Gallavresi.
GIAN FRANCESCO STRAPAROLA: ONE OF US
Written by Claudia Plata
Once upon a time, there was a poorly sunlit lane—and it is still there. It is located right in the historical heart of the town, but it perhaps goes unnoticed as it is rarely trodden and the buildings surrounding it from both sides overshadow the lane.
Perhaps, not many people paid attention, while leaving via Vicinato and turning right, that the street plate bears the name Gian Francesco Straparola, a 16th-century literary author whom the residents of Caravaggio must consider one of their fellow citizens.
The dark street denotes somehow the obscurity Straparola had fallen into until eminent writers such as Charles Perrault, the Grimm brothers and Italo Calvino helped rediscover his literary worth. Credit must be given to Perrault precisely for bringing today’s well-known fairy tale “Puss in Boots” to light: a tale, however, which he always had been wrongly assumed to be the author of. In fact, the tale originated from Straparola’s creative mind, and not from Perrault’s, who merely drew heavily on the Italian writer. In Straparola’s original version, a female cat uses trickery and deceit to save her master Costantino from misfortune and poverty, and she makes his fortune—the title “Costantino fortunato” (lit. “Fortunate Costantino”) derives precisely from this. The story narrated by Perrault owes much to Straparola’s plotlines, except for introducing a cat and not a female cat in the literary genre.
Unfortunately, few are the clues as to the author’s life and shedding light on them was no easy task. Only his family name and his origins are known for certain.
Until a few decades ago, scholars shared the assumption that “Straparola” was a mere pseudonym, given the idiosyncrasy of the name. It was not until recently that further in-depth research carried out by examining the 15th-century registry office records demonstrated that “Straparola” was without a doubt the writer’s family name—which proved the past belief wrong. In addition, the two variations of the name, “Streparola” and “Strepparola”, testify even today to the commonness of the surname in several towns in the area of Bergamo, Milan and Cremona, which are not too far from Caravaggio.
Straparola mentions Caravaggio several times in his works as the place where he was born some time around 1480 and which he left soon to head to Venice. There he published all his works in prose and in poetry, but it was thanks to Le piacevoli notti (The Facetious Nights of Straparola) that he could establish himself as a prestigious writer.
Published in 1550, this work is not a mere collection of fairy tales, but rather the first known work ever where fairy tales, as they are known today, appeared in print. That resulted in Straparola being regarded as the pioneer of fairy tales in Italian literature, as he was the first who introduced the genre as it is known today. Voracious readers and a considerable number of translated versions published continually year after year across Europe made his collection incredibly popular already in the 16th century. Straparola’s creative mind was paramount in making Le piacevoli notti well-known and a real best seller in that century. He was influenced by Boccaccio’s prestigious work, Decameron. In this respect, Straparola distinguished himself from many of his peers who did nothing but copy and paste Decameron’s novellas. He took inspiration from Boccaccio’s tales and he created brand-new adventure stories including features which became over time distinctive of the genre fairy tale. Newly created figures are found in his stories: heroes and heroines taking on challenges and adventures, talking animals or magical helpers, always-present villains opposing the good in the story. Events occur in places, such as enchanted forests and magical mystery towns, which were never to be found in earlier narratives by other writers, and they take place far away in time, in a non-specific imaginary world. Lastly, Straparola introduced a happy ending, a feature rarely to be found in earlier literary narratives, as these typically ended on a negative note.
There seems to have been a happy ending to Straparola’s life as well. After falling into undeserved obscurity after his death, the literary worth of his work has been brought again to light today, and his life and his writings have become object of several studies in Europe as well as overseas. The thought that the residents of Caravaggio can name the father of fairy tales among their past fellow citizens can only but add to the literary pride of Caravaggio—an extraordinary, only apparently ordinary town!
GIUSEPPE ZELIOLI
Giuseppe Zelioli was born into a family of musicians: his father, Pietro Gaetano Zelioli, was an organist of the Sanctuary of Caravaggio. From as early as his childhood, Giuseppe showed such exceptional skills at playing the piano, as to be acknowledged as being a talented organist before the age of ten. He gave his first public performance during the commemoration festivities for Michelangelo Merisi from Caravaggio, on which occasion Zelioli performed the Canto a Michelangelo, a song for the painter written by the musician himself. He spent a long, artistically productive period of his life in Lecco, Lombardy, where he composed an extensive repertoire. Zelioli gave his contribution to the Liturgical Reform of the Catholic Church, because he was driven by the idea of music as the highest form of divine adoration.
Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Fonte
The Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Fonte is a majestic building which lies at the end of the long tree-lined avenue linking it to the Porta Nuova Arch, the entrance gate to the town centre. The history of the Sanctuary begins with the apparition of the Virgin Mary on 26 May 1432. On that day, a peasant woman named Giannetta de Vacchi, who was working in a field in the vicinity of Caravaggio, reported the apparition of a woman of impressive beauty in all majesty, whom Giannetta identified as the Virgin Mary. A gush of water sprung immediately forth from where the Virgin Mary had appeared and those who would go to the spring were healed from their ailments. In the centuries thereafter, a modest shrine was built in the very same place and later it was expanded and became the present-day Sanctuary of Caravaggio. The core of the Sanctuary is the Sacro Speco, an accessible area under the high altar, decorated with mosaic patterns and the statues of Our Lady with Giannetta. Underneath the Sacro Speco is the exact place where the apparition occurred. There is a sacred spring and pilgrims can draw water and drink. The harmony of proportion among the 60-metre-high (196.8 ft) dome, the high altar and the Sacro Speco, as well as the symmetry among the Sanctuary, the outdoor fountain and the tree-lined avenue are great examples of balancing proportions and accuracy in architecture. The interior of the Sanctuary houses a 5000-pipe organ, many chapels and is exquisitely decorated with frescoes by the Caravaggio painters Moriggia and Cavenaghi. Pope John Paul II paid a visit to the Sanctuary from 19 to 21 June 1992 over the course of his pastoral visits in Lombardy. During those days, he stayed in the Sanctuary lodgings and, among other activities, he took part in the opening of the Spirituality Centre Chapel. John Paul II even left his rosary in the hand of the statue of Our Lady in the Sacro Speco. And the rosary has been in her hand ever since. The nave and the Sacro Speco are open to the public during the church opening hours. Access to the Spirituality Centre, the Pope Chapel as well as some parts of the Sanctuary is permitted prior approval of the Sanctuary’s administration.
Location: viale Papa Giovanni XXIII, approximately 4 km (2.48 mi) from the A35 Brebemi motorway exit, approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) from Caravaggio train station. The Sanctuary is provided with car parks.
For information and for planning group visits please contact either the Cultural Office (Ufficio Cultura) at cultura@comune.caravaggio.bg.it or at +39 0363 356213, or the Sanctuary Information Office (Segreteria del Santuario) at info@santuariodicaravaggio.org or at +39 0363 3571.
For further information please visit the official website of the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Fonte.
Monastery complex of San Bernardino
The monastery complex is named after the saint who, on his short stay in town in 1419, managed to have the people of Caravaggio and the people of Treviglio, who were long-time foes, come to an understanding. The complex including an adjoining church, a porticoed cloister and other buildings was built to commemorate the episode approximately 70 years later, at the end of the 1400s. The monastery complex overlooks viale Papa Giovanni XXIII, at short distance from the historic centre. A great many structural modifications, adjustments and transfers of ownership characterized the ancient monastery’s history. In the 1970s, the complex was converted to Caravaggio Civic and Cultural Centre. The ancient scriptorium, or the room devoted to the writing and copying of manuscripts, and the friars’ cells house today a civic library named after Father Felice Banfi, whereas the ancient refectory serves as auditorium and temporary exhibitions hall. Other rooms have been made available to local voluntary associations for gathering and another part of the complex houses the Dr. Eng. Ottorino Zibetti Naval Museum. Below is a description of the museum written by Ottorino Pellegri, expert in local history. The monastery complex encompasses the church of San Bernardino with its outstanding features on the inside. The nave is adorned in beautiful frescoes from the 15h and 16th centuries whereas the chancel frescoes date back to the 18th century. A 1531 Cycle of Passion, by local painter Fermo Stella, covers the roughly 80-square-metre-broad (860.8 square feet) partition behind the altar. The Cycle depicts five episodes from the Passion of Jesus. There are three side chapels and two small, richly decorated chapels behind the chancel partition. The church’s splendid frescoes have been newly restored. For further information about the frescoes conservation works and “Art Bonus”, the tax credit for the protection of Italy’s cultural heritage, please visit the specific web page
The church is open to the public on special occasions, religious ceremonies and
- on Wednesday morning from 10:00 to 11:30
- on Friday morning from 10:00 to 12:00.
Location: viale Papa Giovanni XXIII, 17, approximately 2 km (1.24 mi) from the A35 Brebemi motorway exit, within short walking distance from Caravaggio train station. The nearest parking spaces are the station car park or the car park in Largo Donatori di Sangue.
Guided tours are also offered by the non-profit organization OpenRoad:
@OpenRoadCaravaggio (Instagram and Facebook)
3519798955 (WhatsApp)
Parish Church of Saints Fermo and Rustico
The Parish Church named after the patron saints of Caravaggio Fermo and Rustico is the main worship place in town. It dates to the 11th century and is one of the oldest historical buildings. Worshippers are welcomed by its exposed brick façade and its bell tower, measuring over 70 metres (229.6 ft), which is one of the highest ones in the province of Bergamo. The construction of the bell tower took more than four hundred years and was completed only in the 1930s, when the lantern was added on its top following the project of the architect Carlo Bedolini. While the exposed brick façade is unadorned, the interior of the church is richly decorated with Baroque frescoes and other paintings by Moriggia, Moietta and Prata among many other local artists. The noteworthy Holy Sacrament Chapel is apparently in Bramantesque style—it was originally disjointed from the main body of the church. The Chapel presents works and many frescoes depicting episodes from the Bible. The church is open to the public every day from 7.30 a.m. to 11.45 a.m. and from 2.45 p.m. to 5.45 p.m.
Location: Piazza San Fermo, approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) from Caravaggio train station and from the A35 Brebemi motorway exit.
The nearest parking spaces are the car park in Piazza Bramante, in Largo Donatori di Sangue or in via Bernardo da Caravaggio.
For information and for planning group visits please contact either the Cultural Office (Ufficio Cultura) at cultura@comune.caravaggio.bg.it or at +39 0363 356213, or the Parish Church Information Office (Ufficio Parrocchiale) at ufficio@parrocchiadicaravaggio.it or at +39 0363 50092.
Church of San Giovanni Battista
The Church of San Giovanni Battista is adjacent to the ancient monastery of John the Baptist, which accommodated the monks of the Cistercian Religious Order and formerly the Order of Humiliati. It was in this church that the wedding between Fermo Merisi and Lucia Aratori, Michelangelo Merisi’s parents, was held in January 1571. Today the church is deconsecrated and has been council-owned property since the 1970s. The façade has been restored while the interior is unadorned as the works of art have been moved to another place to preserve their good condition.
Location: via Roma, approximately 1 Km (0.62 mi) from Caravaggio train station and from the A35 Brebemi motorway exit. The nearest parking spaces are in via Roma and in Largo Donatori di Sangue. The church is closed to the public for safety reasons.
Church of Santa Elisabetta
The Church of Santa Elisabetta is part of the ancient convent of Augustinian nuns and is the parochial house. It was built onto an earlier church in the 1600s following the project by the architect Fabio Mangone. The exposed brick façade and the original walnut choir stalls have been restored. The church is open to the public on religious events and special occasions.
Location: at the intersection between via Bernardo da Caravaggio and via Gian Luigi Banfi, approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) from Caravaggio train station and from the A35 Brebemi motorway exit. The nearest parking spaces are in Piazza Bramante, Piazza Garibaldi or in via Bernardo da Caravaggio.
For information and for planning group visits please contact either the Cultural Office (Ufficio Cultura) at cultura@comune.caravaggio.bg.it or at +39 0363 356213, or the Parish Church Information Office (Ufficio Parrocchiale) at ufficio@parrocchiadicaravaggio.it or at +39 0363 50092.
Church of Santa Liberata
The Church of Santa Liberata lies just outside the town historic centre, at the intersection between the streets that lead towards Vidalengo and Masano. It was built in the 1500s and it was originally a small country church beyond the ancient town walls. It has a hexagonal plan, with a portico on three sides, while the back side of the church is connected to private houses. Every year, on the evening of 18 March, Saint Liberata’s Day, a mass is held at the church, and the streets are lit with festive lights, and filled with stalls selling food and sweets, teeming with people. The celebration of Saint Liberata’s Day, which culminates in the fireworks, plays a big part in the identity of the community.
The Church of Santa Liberata is open to the public every day from 7.30 a.m. to 11.45 a.m. and from 2.30 p.m. to 6.00 p.m.
Location: via Santa Liberata, approximately 2 km (1.24 mi) from Caravaggio train station and 2.5 km (1.55 mi) from the A35 Brebemi motorway exit. The nearest parking spaces are in via Alcide de Gasperi or in via Bartolomeo Colleoni.
For information and for planning group visits please contact either the Cultural Office (Ufficio Cultura) at cultura@comune.caravaggio.bg.it or at +39 0363 356213, or the Parish Church Information Office (Ufficio Parrocchiale) at ufficio@parrocchiadicaravaggio.it or at +39 0363 50092.
Church of San Giovanni in Vidalengo
The Church of San Giovanni a Porta Latina lies in Vidalengo, one of the two territorial subdivisions of Caravaggio, a few kilometres north. It was built around the year 1000 as a chapel for the community to use, and it was later expanded and modified. The present-day church is flanked by a bell tower built in the late 1800s onto the old tower that had been irreparably damaged by a storm.
The church is open to the public every day from 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 a.m. and from 2.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m.
Location: Piazza San Giovanni (Vidalengo), approximately 5 km (3.1 mi) from Caravaggio train station, approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) from Vidalengo train station (Milan-Venezia line) and 3.5 km (2.17 mi) from the A35 Brebemi motorway exit. The nearest parking spaces are in via Venezia and via Don Sainini.
Church of San Vitale in Masano
The Church of San Vitale is the parish church of Masano, the territorial subdivision situated few kilometres east of Caravaggio. The church, as we see it, was built in 1928 onto the old 13th-century building. It houses a 17th-century Madonna, which stood earlier in Caravaggio Church of San Rocco, and a 1946 Baptism of Christ by the Treviglio painter Trento Longaretti. The church interior and façade are newly restored.
The Church is open to the public in the morning.
Location: Piazza San Vitale (Masano), approximately 5.5 km (3.4 mi) from Caravaggio train station and 2 km (1.2 mi) from the A35 Brebemi motorway exit for Bariano. The nearest parking spaces are in via Vincenzo Bellini and in via Pagazzano.
Palazzo Gallavresi
This 13th-century palace is the Caravaggio town hall. In the past it was the Marchioness Palace as it was the residence and administrative centre of the Marquises of Caravaggio from the Sforza family from the 1500s to late 1700s. Michelangelo Merisi’s family, who had connections with the Sforza, is believed to have lived in the Palace when Caravaggio was under the Sforza’s domination. After the Sforza, it was the residence of other families of noblemen. The last owners were the Gallavresi, the family which the palace is named after, who owned it until the 1930s, when the town administration bought it. The Palace has served as the Caravaggio town hall since then. The structure, interior, furnishings and appearance underwent major changes over time. It houses a picture gallery with paintings dating back to the late 15th and 20th centuries. Among them there are altarpiece panel paintings, portraits, frescoes, drawings, bronze plaques, and busts. Some parts of the Palazzo Gallavresi are open to the public during the town hall opening hours. Guided tours are organized in spring, autumn and on special occasions.
Location: Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi 1, approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) from Caravaggio train station and from the A35 Brebemi motorway exit. The nearest parking spaces are in Piazza Garibaldi and in Largo Donatori di Sangue.
Monastery of San Giovanni Battista
The monastery named after Saint John the Baptist first accommodated the monks of the Catholic Religious Order of Humiliati and then of the Cistercian Order. Later it was converted to a house of shelter and rest for pilgrims and a hospital and it retained that function until 1971. That is why it still is known as the “old hospital” among the people of Caravaggio. The monastery is monumental in size. The exposed brick side of the building facing via Roma has preserved its past outer appearance.
The monastery is currently closed to the public.
Location: at the intersection among Largo Donatori di Sangue, Largo Cavenaghi and via Roma, approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) from Caravaggio train station and the A35 Brebemi motorway exit. The nearest parking spaces are in Largo Donatori di Sangue and in Largo Cavenaghi.
Public Primary School
The Caravaggio public primary school, named after the painter Michelangelo Merisi, opened in 1912. It lies in the town centre, where the ancient rocca, a fortified small castle, used to be located until it was demolished in the 1800s. The façade in Liberty style has many frescoes, which were brought to light when the front side was restored. Among them, one depicts a school in futuristic style. The school was temporarily converted to a military hospital and military depot during both World Wars. It was in that period that the earlier iron gate was lost. With its 500 pupils, it is Caravaggio’s biggest primary school.
Location: Piazza Antonio Locatelli, approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) from the A35 Brebemi motorway exit and from Caravaggio train station. The nearest parking spaces are in Circonvallazione Seriola, in Piazza Antonio Locatelli and in Largo Donatori di Sangue.
Palazzo Carabelli
The 17th-century palace in via Fabio Mangone is the building which once housed the administrative offices of the town of Caravaggio, as well as the civic library and the School of Woodwork and Carving. Its newly restored façade is decorated with seven busts, with one of them believed to be Michelangelo Merisi’s. The palace has preserved its granite colonnade in the courtyard.
Location: via Fabio Mangone, approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) from the A35 Brebemi motorway exit and from Caravaggio train station. The nearest parking spaces are in piazza Garibaldi and in the adjacent streets.
Former Casa Littoria
Caravaggio Casa Littoria was the building housing the local branch of the National Fascist Party in 1939. The name Casa Littoria is after the lictor, meaning the bearer of the fasces, which was the symbol of Imperial Roman power adopted by the Fascist party, from which the term fascism is derived. The building is a good example of rationalist architecture under the Fascist regime. After the regime’s downfall, the building was turned over to the Italian state and converted into public housing and later abandoned. The building has preserved the fascist effigy of an eagle and the motto on the front side as well as the colonnade where rallies would be held.
The former Casa Littoria is closed to the public for safety reasons.
Location: via Amilcare Bietti 50, at short distance from Caravaggio train station and approximately 1.5 km (0.9 mi) from the A35 Brebemi motorway exit. The nearest parking spaces are in viale Papa Giovanni XXIII and via Amilcare Bietti.
Porta nuova Arch
Porta Nuova Arch is the entrance gate to the historic centre when coming from the Sanctuary of Caravaggio down the tree-lined avenue. The arch was built in 1709 to commemorate the coronation of Our Lady of Caravaggio at the Sanctuary that year. The apparition of the Virgin Lady to Giannetta is sculpted in the upper part of the arch. It is the last remaining entrance gate to the town: the other four gates, one for each neighbourhood within the walls, collapsed as the town walls were torn down.
Location: Largo Cavenaghi, less than 1 km (0.62 mi) from Caravaggio train station and approximately 2 km (1.24 mi) from the A35 Brebemi motorway exit. The nearest parking places are in Largo Cavenaghi.
Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII
Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII is familiarly called Viale del Santuario by the people of Caravaggio, for it stretches for 1.6 km (almost 1 mi) from the historic centre to the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Fonte. It is undoubtedly one of the most popular locations for visitors and is the residents’ favourite location for a stroll or a bicycle ride. Such activities become even more pleasant in spring and summer, under the foliage of almost six hundred horse-chestnut trees arranged in four rows on each side of the avenue, along the carriageway and the side shared-use paths. The trees currently in place are fewer as the town administration has been replacing the diseased ones.
Cemetery of Sant'Eusebio
The Caravaggio cemetery is named after Saint Eusebio. The construction in neoclassical style began in 1839 and the project was expanded at a later time. The front side chapel is decorated with frescoes by the painters Enrico Scuri and Giovanni Moriggia, and it houses local painter Luigi Cavenaghi’s tomb. Among other fine works of art in the cemetery are those by contemporary local artist Trento Longaretti and Enrico Pancera who created the Monza memorial to Italian soldiers. The cemetery is open to the public during the opening hours in deference to the sacred nature of the place.
Location: via Sant’Eusebio, approximately 3 km (mi) from Caravaggio train station and from the A35 Brebemi motorway exit.
The nearest parking spaces are in the cemetery car park.
Fontanile Brancaleone Nature Reserve
The land where Caravaggio lies is dotted by the so-called line of fontanili, spring waters rising from the ground. The Fontanile Brancaleone Nature Reserve is perhaps the most famous. It has been a protected area since 1984 and it is designated as a Site of Community Importance. It lies near the farm Cascina Gavazzolo (northeast of Caravaggio, towards Masano). From there, water flows in ditches across the land. The nature reserve is home to various species of plants, flowers, and animals. Nightingales, chaffinches, turtledoves, blackbirds, pheasant, as well as frogs, toads, and newts, to name a few, are frequently encountered. Pikes and rainbow trouts have also been spotted. Numerous species of crustaceans live here as well.
Visits are permitted with prior approval of the reserve managing body and are allowed only along the prepared and signposted routes.
Location: intersection between via Masano and via Pagazzano, along the Milan-Verona railway line. It lies approximately 2.5 km (1.55 mi) from the A35 Brebemi motorway exit for Bariano, approximately 4 km (2.48 mi) from Vidalengo train station. The nearest parking spaces are in via Pagazzano, Masano.
For information please contact the Cultural Office (Ufficio Cultura) at cultura@comune.caravaggio.bg.it or at +39 0363 356213, or visit the internet webpage of Fontanile Brancaleone Nature Reserve.
Fontanile Vascapine
The spring waters east of Caravaggio, near Masano, are called Fontanile Vascapine. Even though it is not designated as a nature reserve, it is a protected enclosed area with greenery and ponds and is the habitat of various indigenous species including eels, mallards, herons, and barn owls. The mute swans and some species of fish living there have been introduced by men instead. Fontanile Vascapine is open to visitors and can be reached by bicycle or by walking only.
Location: via Caravaggio, Masano, not far from Fontanile Brancaleone. It is approximately 4.5 km (2.79 mi) from Vidalengo train station and 2 km (1.24 mi) from the A35 Brebemi exit for Bariano.
The nearest parking spaces are in via San Rocco.
For information about all the above mentioned sites, please contact the Cultural Office (Ufficio Cultura) at cultura@comune.caravaggio.bg.it or at +39 0363 356213.
Credits for the translation: Laura Arenghi.