Under Monte Giovanni XXIII - Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII

Under Monte Giovanni XXIII
Panorama
Coat of arms
Under Monte Giovanni XXIII - Coat of arms
StateItaly
RegionLombardy
TerritoryBergamasco
Altitude305 m a.s.l.
Surface5.02 km²
Inhabitants4.519 (2019)
Name inhabitantsSottomontesi
Prefix tel 39 035
POSTAL CODE24039
Time zone UTC 1
PatronSt. John the Baptist (June 24)
Position
Map of Italy
Reddot.svg
Under Monte Giovanni XXIII
Institutional website

Under Monte Giovanni XXIII is a citizen of the Lombardy in the province of Bergamo.

To know

Church of Santa Maria Assunta
Church of San Giovanni Battista
Church of Sant'Egidio in Fontanella

Under Monte Giovanni XXIII is the hometown of Pope John XXIII.

Geographical notes

Under Monte Giovanni XXIII it is located on the northern end of theBergamo Island, delimited by the offshoots of Monte Canto. It is 18 km from Bergamo and borders on Ambive, Carvico, Mapello, Pontida is Terno d'Isola.

Background

From medieval origins to the modern age

The first settlements on the municipal territory originated in the locality of Bercio, and should date back to the 9th century when the entire province of Bergamo was subject to the dominion of the Franks, who created the institution of the Holy Roman Empire and with it feudalism.

These territories, located in a sunny position on the slopes of Mount Canto, were given to the bishop of Bergamo, who in turn gave them to the Benedictine monks who settled there in Fontanella.

Founded by Alberto da Prezzate, the rectory abbey of Sant'Egidio in Fontanella profoundly characterized the life of the village, starting with buildings such as the tower of San Giovanni, located on the top of the mountain. Consequently, the village that developed at the foot of it was then identified as Sotto il monte dei frati, then reduced to Sotto il Monte.

During the medieval period there were no episodes of particular importance, not even the infamous clashes between the Guelph and Ghibelline factions that raged in the rest of the province and in the neighboring municipalities. In this regard, consider that the tower of San Giovanni was never used for defensive or war purposes, so much so that it was transformed into a bell tower already in the fourteenth century.

The contemporary age

The element that characterized those centuries was the poverty of the inhabitants, dedicated to living with what the work in the fields was able to provide, barely managing to meet the minimum subsistence requirements. In this regard, a testimony from that time is clear:

“Here there are no trafics or merchants, the people are poor laborers from terra et bracenti, who hardly collect grain for their living; and these have no privilege but are subjected to all the burdens and data ... "

It is clear that the dominations that followed did not interest the inhabitants of the village, who kept the structure of the residential nucleus almost unchanged until the twentieth century.

And it is precisely after the middle of that century that things changed radically for the village of Sotto il Monte: first of all an industrialization phenomenon began to develop which changed the way of life of the inhabitants, who gradually abandoned agriculture, but above all there was a Catholic priest originally from the village, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, born in the Brusicco district on November 25, 1881, who rose to the headlines all over the world when, over the years, he became archbishop and cardinal, on October 28 1958 he was elevated papal throne with the name of Pope John XXIII.

From that moment Sotto il Monte was inextricably linked to the name of its illustrious citizen, who, for his part, always remembered his humble origins with pride:

"... you see, my children, these plains so rich, are the children of San Benedetto who came here first from the other side of the mountain, who taught our ancestors, a thousand years ago, to dig them, hoe them, and make them fruitful"

(Pope John XXIII) After the Pope's death on June 3, 1963, the town, in his honor, took on the current official name of Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII.

How to orient yourself

Contrade

  • Cabin
  • Baradello
  • Bedesco
  • Bercio
  • Boarolo
  • Botta
  • Brusicco
  • Cà Caprino
  • Cà Maitino
  • Caneve
  • Casoracchio
  • Catolari
  • Contact center
  • Horns
  • drinking fountain
  • Gerole
  • Grumello
  • Monasterolo
  • Porches
  • Pratolongo
  • Larco village
  • Zandona


How to get

By plane

From the following airports, thanks to the presence of several car rental companies, you can rent a car.

By car

Take the A4 Milan-Venice motorway and exit at Capriate San Gervasio. At the roundabout, take the second street on the right towards Calusco d'Adda. After about 12 km at the roundabout in Calusco d'Adda take the second right following the signs for Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII in order to reach your destination.

By bus

From Bergamo with the line A of the Locatelli Autoservizi it is possible to reach Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII. If you come from Milan and / or from the airports of Linate and Malpensa, you will have to take a bus or a train to Bergamo and from here line A of the Autoservizi Locatelli.

How to get around


What see

Chapel-ossuary
Bell tower of San Giovanni

Churches

Museums

  • 6 Birthplace of Pope John XXIII, Via Colombera 5, ☎ 39 035 791101, fax: 39 035 791198, @. Simple icon time.svgWinter: Tue-Sun 8: 30-11: 30 and 14: 30-17: 30; Summer: Tue-Sun 8: 30-11: 30 and 14: 30-18: 30. 


Events and parties


What to do


Shopping


How to have fun


Where to eat

Moderate prices

  • 1 Red shrimp, Piazza dei Caduti 2, ☎ 39 035 794420. Takeaway pizzeria. 

Average prices


Where stay

Moderate prices

Average prices


Safety


How to keep in touch

Post office

  • 5 Post Office, Via Zaverio Roncalli 17, ☎ 39 035 799806, fax: 39 035 791344. Simple icon time.svgMon-Fri 8: 20-13: 45; Sat 8: 20-12: 45. 



Around

Itineraries


Other projects

1-4 star.svgDraft : the article respects the standard template contains useful information for a tourist and gives brief information on the tourist destination. Header and footer are correctly filled out.