SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE, Interior

Inside the church, you’ll have to look carefully to recognize the original Romanesque layout: the whole of the interior is a triumph of opulence, marked by the splendidly ornate gold and relief stucco work from later periods. Since the end of the 16th century, the whole church has been transformed with the addition of magnificent adornments.

However, a number of medieval paintings next to the portals, covered by later decorations, have been brought back to life thanks to restoration work. You can recognize them for the naturally portrayed figures, flat colors and simple composition.

Much of the large fresco with the Tree of Life, painted by a follower of Giotto, is covered with later decorations, while you’ll easily be able to recognize the fresco featuring the Last Supper, and others with curious scenes from the lives of the Saints.

Hanging on the walls are 25 huge, magnificent tapestries that add a touch of splendor: they were woven by hand, by intertwining threads of wool, colored silk, gold and silver, in the famous craft workshops of Florence and further afield in the Flanders region.

If you follow the series of tapestries, you’ll come to a Confessional, richly adorned with statues: this masterpiece was crafted at the beginning of the 18th century by Andrea Fantoni, a talented sculptor from the valleys of Bergamo, in dark walnut and boxwood, a lighter variety of shrub....