The gate of the Venetian Walls that looks west is called Porta Sant’Alessandro and was the access to the city for those arriving from Lecco and Como. Its name derives from the nearby basilica dedicated to the patron saint of Bergamo and razed to the ground in 1561, as remembered by a plaque placed next to the only surviving column of the basilica, to allow the construction of the Walls. Passing through the gate, one still encounters the “Column of Sant’Alessandro”, which marks the exact place where the cathedral, later demolished, stood.
Today this massive passage is located in the area of Città Alta called Colle Aperto, an appellative born at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when the area leading from Viale delle Mura to Porta Sant’Alessandro was levelled. The square offers an enchanting perspective on both the monumental part and the landscape.
