Seriate

My companion and I stayed with friends in a small town just outside of Bergamo, called Seriate.

If it has taken second-billing so far, it is because it seemed to just be an extension of Bergamo. Not a separate municipality, although, it is of course. It just seemed like another set of apartments and streets radiating out from Bergamo's citta' bassa. The shops, stores, and restaurants all seemed to be a short walk away in Bergamo. ( At least it seems like a short walk in my memory!)

There was more distance between the buildings though, as you got further away from Bergamo. It was spreading out a bit. Not becoming rural yet, but there were more open spaces and a gorgeous river, roaring over rocks and flowing under a bridge, a cafe on the bank and a church with the obligatory bells just past the bridge. A bit of wilderness just across the street from where we were staying.

As an American, I was amazed at how everything seemed to be made of stone and so little made of wood. In my home town of Providence, Rhode Island, we had wooden "tenements" - wooden apartment houses, usually three stories ( floors) tall with a porch for each floor. All seemed to be made from the same plans.
The only stone or brick houses were in the more affluent parts of the state.

I don't think that I saw a wooden house until we went into the pre-Alps, up in the foothills of the Alps, where there was cafe in a log cabin, surrounded by pine trees. We were in Teutonic Italy then, and you could see, hear and almost feel the German and Austrian heritage and tradition.