Travel Guide to Caravaggio

Ultima modifica 26 settembre 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.

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.

For information and for planning group visits please contact the Cultural Office (Ufficio Cultura) at cultura@comune.caravaggio.bg.it or at +39 0363 356213.

Guided tours are also offered by the non-profit organization OpenRoad:

 www.openroadcaravaggio.com
@OpenRoadCaravaggio (Instagram and Facebook)
3519798955 (WhatsApp)

Credits for the translation: Laura Arenghi.