'Bergamo in 6 hours' is the modest title of a tourist leaflet produced by the city itself. This may come as a surprise to travellers who have found themselves stuck in the airport of that name for even longer, but it will help dispel the notion that Bergamo is just an airport which Ryanair has put on the international airline map. There is more to Bergamo than a series of runways.

The complication is that there are in reality two places of that name, or strictly speaking one city divided in two, but they are so different in character as to constitute two separate realities.

Lower Bergamo is a modern metropolis, lively and buzzing in its own unremarkable way, while Bergamo Alta, (Upper Bergamo) has the charm, loveliness, fascination and individuality which derive from its place in history and from the humours of its various rulers.

It is well worth six hours of any traveller's time, even if only before dashing on to more familiar destinations. The city is easily accessible from the airport by a forty minute bus-ride, while for those who arrive by train, the station is in the lower town, with a funicular railway leaving from across the piazza to carry time-challenged travellers up the mountain.

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Bergamo Alta dates back to Roman times and was later incorporated into the Venetian land empire. The Lion of St Mark, patron saint of Venice, peers down from many points, but plainly the townsfolk had doubts about its abilities to defend them from invaders, so the city is still surrounded by the huge, grim walls the Venetians built.

It is worth spending one of the six allotted hours walking round them to look down on the town or out at the surrounding, sun-soaked, fertile countryside, picking out the vineyards for which the area is justly famous.

To facilitate six-hour tourism, or to make the town more liveable, the authorities have made a largely, but not wholly, successful attempt to ban cars, but if that is no guarantee of peace, the bustle and noise are of a sort familiar in an essentially medieval Italian town.

Of course the characteristics of modern tourism in the shape of groups led by a determined leader with a walking stick held aloft, and of the youth of modern Europe and America huddled in doorways munching slices of pizza and downing cans of Coca-Cola are everywhere in sight. But no matter. Relax into Bergamo.

It is easy and delightful to manoeuvre the streets and piazzas of this compact little town cut in two by the main narrow, cobble-stoned thoroughfare, the Corsarola, which is lined by churches and palaces as well as by shops and restaurants.

Piazza VecchiaPiazza Vecchia (Image: Visit Bergamo)

The real journey is into history. Half-way along stands the Piazza Vecchia, as strikingly beautiful and awe-inspiring a public space as any in Europe. Seemingly, no less an authority than the celebrated architect Le Corbusier declared that not even a stone of it should be touched, since such an act ‘would be a crime’. Indeed.

The front space was the heart of political power and what was once the residence of the local lord now houses an immersive museum, while in the centre of the square stands an impressive fountain surrounded by a circle of sculpted lions with a chain through their mouths.

Further on there is a colonnaded building giving on to another area space which is the centre of religious authority. Visiting churches is not everyone’s idea of holiday activity, but a failure to look into the religious buildings here would be as much a crime as touching a stone in Piazza Vecchia.

The Cathedral on the left, elaborately decorated in the best Venetian style, even boasts a work by Tiepolo and an extraordinary baldacchino (canopy) which seems to float over the high altar. Move on to the adjoining basilica on St Mary Major and gasp at the sheer exuberance of the Baroque style, and come out to cast a glance at the neat little Baptistery, but under no circumstance fail to go into the mortuary chapel to the renowned and feared Renaissance mercenary, or military leader, Bartolomeo Colleoni which is sited in between these two. There is nothing like it anywhere.

It is a small, round building with an altar to the right, but no one will be tempted to look left or right, for against the wall facing the entrance there is an enormous monument with two sculpted tombs, topped by an overwhelming, gigantic, gold-covered statue of Colleoni on horseback, carrying what seems to be sceptre, looking down on spectators with an expression of haughty scorn.

CorsaroloCorsarolo (Image: Visit Bergamo)

He looks disconcertingly like Mussolini, or at least like Mussolini as he wished to be, seen, but there is nothing about this breath-taking work which has any savour of death. Colleoni was a brutal man, and this statue expresses only arrogance and triumph.

After this, it will be better to have a relaxing drink in the piazza. The excellent local wines can sampled in the many bars and restaurants along the Corsarolo which cater for varying tastes and purses. Bergamo boasts a proud culinary history.

Past generations obviously had a sweet tooth as is evidenced by the number of highly attractive cake shops and restaurants. It even boasts its own distinctive variation of polenta and it's well worth sampling it in a dish with a local cheese.

It is also good to saunter up side streets to gaze at houses and visit other splendid churches, or simply absorb the unique atmosphere of the place. There is also an excellent art gallery as well as a (frankly disappointing) museum to the composer Gaetano Donizetti who was born in the town and who is now best known now for his opera, Lucia di Lammermoor. There are few better ways to spend six hours than loitering around Bergamo.