Gromo - Gromo

Gromo is a center of the Lombardy.

To know

On the Lombard mountains, the town has wonderfully preserved its ancient structure intact; it is part of the most beautiful villages in Italy; he was also awarded by the TCI (Italian Touring Club) with an orange flag.

Geographical notes

In Val Seriana, is 8 km from Clusone, 40 from Bergamo.

Background

The toponym means height, a place that was fortified in Roman times when the area was already exploited for the extraction of iron, in particular Gromo had two mines for the extraction of silver, which was sent to Bergamo to be able to mint the first coins. Thanks to the wealth obtained from mining, the castle was built perhaps by the Buccelleni family, and the Priacini castle. In 1267 thanks to an agreement with the municipality of Bergamo, the town that was a rural neighborhood, it acquired fiscal autonomy and became a village. This is the period of development of iron and silver mining. In 1428, with the annexation of the Bergamasco to the Republic of Venice, the production of sidearms (swords, daggers, daggers, halberds) reached a high level, so much so that the products of the Gromo workshops were exported throughout Europe.

A huge landslide in 1666 caused the destruction of about thirty factories for the processing of iron fittings, if followed by a notable slowdown in the blade processing activity, so much so that Venice exempted the country from paying taxes and granted the title of City and one coat of arms, crowned by the ducal crown, depicting a stork holding a snake in its beak as a wish for a quick rebirth. Between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the ironworks still continued, which however ended at the end of the nineteenth century. At the same time, other activities gradually declined, such as mills and sawmills, due to the lower demand on the market. At the end of the nineteenth century, hydroelectric plants were built which changed the economic structure of the country. The distance from the city centers has however caused an exclusion from the areas where economic activities were most developed; an isolation that has allowed the maintenance of the urban integrity of this ancient center of great charm, but which has forced many locals to look for jobs, also migrating abroad, particularly in the mid-twentieth century, to France and Switzerland.

The end of the twentieth century saw the development of tourism with the installation of ski facilities in the Spiazzi locality, new homes, and services designed to make the presence of tourists pleasant.

How to orient yourself

Neighborhoods

Boario, Ripa and Spiazzi are inhabited centers of its territory.

How to get

By plane

The nearest airport is that of Bergamo:

• 45.6661869.7018081 Bergamo-Orio al Serio Airport (the Caravaggio), Via Aeroporto 13, Orio al Serio, ☎ 39 035 326323. 

By car

• It is crossed by the provincial road 49 of the upper Seriana Valley.

By bus

Service performed by Bergamo Transport.

How to get around

What see

• 45.9689359.9294881 Ginami Castle. We do not know the family who built the tower of the castle in the first half of the thirteenth century, placed in an elevated position on a spur of rock overlooking the Serio. The high tower overlooks the building and is the part of the ancient castle that has remained intact, unlike the defensive structure of the sixteenth century. The Gelmini family took over from the family that built it in the nineteenth century, passing the hand to the Bishop's Curia of Bergamo to then become a private property in the form of a company. Inside it preserves collections of ancient objects of the Bergamo tradition; a hall boasts a particularly valuable wooden coffered ceiling, as well as the remarkable wrought iron chandelier adorned with the coat of arms of the community. 
• 45.9690289.9294682 Church of San Gregorio. It is located in the center of the village, in the main square. It is a sixteenth-century architecture with a barrel ceiling and Sarnico stone portal. Simple and not large, however, it boasts an altarpiece by Enea Salmeggia, known as the Talpino: The Virgin and Child, St. Charles Borromeo and St. Gregory the Great, with at its feet the panorama of Gromo in its ancient aspect with fortifications and towers. 

• Lavanderio Castle. In a dominant position above the valley, the Lavanderio castle is now a castellated palace with tower and battlements and belongs to the Franzini family. Over the centuries it passed into ownership from the original Priacini to the successive Avogadro, Giuffrida, Lubrini families. The internal courtyard is embellished with a portico and mullioned windows. The name Lavanderio derives from the large fountain that was near the building. 

• 45.972279.9309873 Parish church of Saints Giacomo and Vincenzo. It rises a bit secluded outside the center along the road that climbs to the mountains. The primitive construction is documented since the 12th century and has a Romanesque structure with an interior with three naves. Over the centuries it underwent renovations and restorations, as can be seen in the north nave and on the presbytery with a Baroque appearance. The main altar preserves a valuable golden wooden altar and a choir with 34 caryatids. It houses six paintings by Antonio Cifrondi (late seventeenth century) which narrate episodes from the life of San Giacomo and San Vincenzo. A reliquary closed by two gilded copper doors holds the relics of the Holy Cross (17th century). Of great interest are also three sixteenth-century wooden altarpieces. The Baptistery dates back to 1512.: The building has a seventeenth-century portico built in local stone and side entrances. The portal has at the center of the architrave the coat of arms of Bernardino da Siena, the great holy preacher who worked in the early fifteenth century in the Bergamo area. At the end of the portico, the fifteenth-century chapel of San Benedetto preserves frescoes. Next to the chapel you can visit a museum of local Christian works. 

• 45.9689169.928824 Milesi Palace (city ​​Hall). The building that houses the Town Hall dates back to the end of the fourteenth century, a document mentions it in 1456, and from this period it preserves the window frames and the beams of the ceiling of the central hall, now the council chamber. The portico is surmounted by two loggias whose columns have capitals with angular leaves. The halls have coffered ceilings. Owned by the Milesi family, it was sold to the Municipality in 1924. The building has the particularity of not having undergone any baroque renovations or remakes, but has maintained its original characteristics.

In addition to hosting the municipal administration, the Pro loco is located in the building and, on the upper floor, the Museum of Parchments and the Naturalistic Museum. The adjacent square is adorned with a circular fountain in white marble on which a swan stands, an ancient symbol of the ancient community of the villages of Gromo, Valgoglio and Gandellino. 

• 45.9689169.928825 Museum of sidearms and parchments. Saturday and Sunday from 3.30 pm to 5.30 pm. On display is a collection of sidearms from the 15th-16th-17th centuries of the Gromese swordsmen families Scacchi and Ginami. It also preserves an ancient documentary collection (Archivio Milesi) covering a time span from 1323 to 1800 and the municipal archive (11th-20th centuries). 
• 45.9689169.928826 Econaturalistic Museum, in the Town Hall. It features many of the native animal species. 
• 45.9724319.931117 Luigi Morstabilini parish museum, Via Bettuno low. 
• 45.969959.926758 Church of the Crocetta (Blessed Virgin of Sorrows). Recently built (1856) it was built on the occasion of the cholera of 1856. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin of Sorrows and is located just outside the town, with a small portico recently added. Inside it revealed, during restoration works, frescoes of the sixteenth century, including a small one Our Lady of Sorrows owner of the sacred place. 

In Ripa Alta

• 45.98439.93199 Church of the Holy Trinity. The church is immersed in a beautiful natural setting, in an elevated place with respect to the built-up area. Built in stone, it was built at the behest of Andriolo de 'Burlandis, a pious man who left a duchy of gold as a testament in 1527 for its construction. A semicircular window on the portal illuminates the interior which is accessed via irregular steps. The small nave has a raised wooden altar; the eighteenth-century altarpiece represents the Trinity. The building has a small bell tower communicating with the presbytery. 

To Boario di Gromo

• 45.9681349.94032110 Church of San Bartolomeo. 

Events and parties

• Good Friday procession. 
• Dialect competition "Penna d'oro". 

What to do

• 45.9715569.9630561 Ski, Spiazzi (Gromo). 

Shopping

Typical product of Gromo is the cheese from Val Seriana, obtained from cow's milk with two milkings. Stracchino is also produced and marketed in the restaurant Fratelli Paleni dairy, Via Papa Giovanni XXIII, 2, ☎ 39 0346 41812. 

How to have fun

Where to eat

Traditional of Gromo is the maiasa, a kind of cake made with yellow flour, onions and dried figs, which is eaten on Good Friday. Typical dish for the whole year are the casoncelli alla bergamasca.

Average prices

• 45.965879.926691 Hunter's Inn, Via Roma, 9, ☎ 39 0346 41112, fax: 39 0346 42952. 

Where stay

Average prices

• ^{[link not working]}Gromo Hotel Restaurant, Via Papa Giovanni XXIII, 40 (Also restaurant), ☎ 39 0346 41119. 
• Vittoria Hotel Restaurant, Via Spiazzi, 136 (Location Spiazzi di Gromo), ☎ 39 0346 47180. Also restaurant 
• Spiazzi hotels, Piazzale Avert, 1 (Location Spiazzi di Gromo), ☎ 39 0346 47000. 

Safety

Pharmacy

• 45.9717579.9303432 Taddei, Via Papa Giovanni XXIII, ☎ 39 0346 41122. 

How to keep in touch

Post office

• Italian post, Via Franzini, 7, ☎ 39 0346 41086. 

Around

• Clusone

Useful information

• 45.968869.928923 Touristic office, Dante Alighieri Square 5, ☎ 39 0346 41345, fax: 39 0346 421116, @[email protected]. 
• Pro Loco of Gromo, Dante Alighieri Square 7, ☎ 39 0346 41345. 
• Bikes, Dante Alighieri Square 7 (At the Pro Loco), ☎ 39 0346-41345, @[email protected]. 1 hour € 4.00; half day € 10.00; daily € 14.00; Week End (Friday afternoon / Monday morning) € 24.00; 1 week (7 days) €. 59.00. 

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Gromo
• Commons contains images or other files on Gromo

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