Bergamo Alta, known as “Upper Town”, is a medieval city, surrounded by ancient walls built in the sixteenth century, during the Venetian rule, in order to make it an impregnable fortress. Bergamo is one of the few Italian capital-city, whose old town is completely surrounded by walls, which have maintained intact their original appearance over the centuries.Piazza Vecchia and Palazzo della RagioneBeyond the “Palazzo della Ragione” we find St. Alexander Cathedral, the Colleoni Chapel, with the funeral monuments to the warlord Bartolomeo Colleoni and his daughter Medea, the Baptistery and Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica. Inside, there are the inlays depicting biblical scenes made of wood of various colors, whose designs are almost all work by Lorenzo Lotto, and an imposing Baroque confessional carved by Andrea Fantoni. The church houses the tomb of composer Gaetano Donizetti.Via Colleoni, also known as Corsarola, connecting Old Town Square to Cittadella Square and it is the highest city's heart.In “Piazza della Cittadella” we find the Civic Archaeological Museum and Natural Science Museum. Among other religious architecture, the church of San Michele al Pozzo Bianco, which houses frescoes by Lorenzo Lotto (1525).The Upper Town, as well as hosting a botanical garden located in Via Colle Aperto, is also home of the University of Foreign Languages and Literatures whose prestige is recognized in Europe.You can reach the Upper Town through the “scorlazzini” (stairways that connect it to differnt points to thelower part of the town), by car (even though it is forbidden during summer weekends and throughout the year on Sunday afternoon), with the funicular or by bus.The Great BellPiazza Vecchia is the most known place in Bergamo Alta, with the Contarini Fountain,the Palazzo della Ragione, the Civic Tower (known as the Great Bell), which at 10:00 p.m. still shells 100 rounds - that in the past announced the closing ofthe Venetian walls gates in the night - and other buildings that surround it onall sides. Imposing, opposite the Palazzo della Ragione, the great white building of Palazzo Nuovo that houses the City Library “Angelo Mai”.