SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE, Exterior

In the early Middle Ages, the Bergamo area suffered tremendous periods of drought, followed by famine and plague. At the time, the Virgin Mary’s intercession was requested to halt the scourge, so the people of Bergamo prayed to Mary to intervene, promising to build a church as a sign of their gratitude; in 1137, before all the local citizens and the bishop, the first stone was laid of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, in the heart of the Upper Town, between two squares. The Basilica has no main façade, and has two monumental side entrances, each looking onto one of the two squares.

Right opposite one of the entrances, you’ll notice the richly decorated, mid-fourteenth-century portal “dei leoni rossi” (of the red lions), in Gothic style, featuring splendid red and white marble that stands out against the more humble sandstone of the walls.  

In the Middle Ages, it was believed that placing a lion at the entrance to a church could prevent evil from entering: here you can see two of them, at either side of the portal, supporting the columns.

If you look up, flanked by two saints, you’ll see a proud horseman: it’s Saint Alexander, the patron saint of the city. Further up, as if to protect the saint and the faithful entering the church, you can see the Virgin Mary with the Baby Jesus, and saints on either side....