Santa Maria Maggiore

This church was founded in 1137. It was built on the site of another church that dates back to the 8th century and is dedicated to St. Mary. The church was built in stages and the high altar was consecrated in 1185 and the bell tower was built from 1436 till the end of that century. In fact, a new sacristy was built in the late 1480’s as the old one was destroyed by Bartolomeo who wanted his own mausoleum here. Located in Piazza del Duomo, in the centre of Citta Alta (Bergamo's old town), this place has columns supported by lions in white marble. The pink-and-white marble structure has two Romanesque lions that guard the entrance and there are intricately detailed carvings inside the porch of knights, saints, carved spirals, chevron columns,hunting dogs chasing their prey, and shepherds with their flocks. You can see the beautiful statues of St. Barbara, St. Vincent and St. Alexander here and the peak has the Madonna with Child flanked by St. Esther and St. Grata. The reliefs have depictions of Christ Crowned by Saints and Birth of the Baptist. What sets this apart is that this church is counted among the five ancient basilicas in this part of the world.