Protestant Cultural Centre

Bergamo / Italy

Protestant Cultural Centre and Library in Bergamo
Related personality
  • Girolamo Zanchi (1516–1590)
  • Building

The Library is made up of about 5000 volumes, with editions ranging from the 18th century to the present. It is named after Girolamo Zanchi, a reformed theologian of the 16th century of Bergamo origin (Alzano Lombardo 1516 – Heidelberg 1590). The Library has specialized nature. It collects public texts, documents and essays of Protestant culture concerning history, biblical exegesis, theology, literature, philosophy, politics, ethics, law and education.

Active since 1993, the Protestant Cultural Center of Bergamo is a lay association that does not propose confessional purposes and is open to all those who share its aims. The Protestant Cultural Center promotes the knowledge and study of the religious, civil and social thought and history of Protestantism, with reference also to the current debate; the study and knowledge of the Reformation movements in Italy; the study and research of biblical texts; education, updating and training courses for school personnel.
The Protestant Cultural Center of Bergamo pursues its aims through cycles of conferences, conventions, debates, courses, exhibitions, film festivals, study trips, concerts, promotion of publications, periodicals and not.
The Protestant Cultural Center also has a library, named after the reformed theologian from Bergamo, Gerolamo Zanchi, who adheres to the National Library Service (SBN) in the Lombardy Regional Center and has around 5,000 volumes (www.bibliotecagirolamozanchi.it). The Girolamo Library Zanchi ”is of a specialist nature: it collects and makes available documents and essays concerning history, biblical exegesis, theology, literature, philosophy, politics, ethics, law, education in which the imprint of the Protestant spirit is present. The fund stands out in particular for a considerable number of both Italian and foreign biblical editions and for the presence of texts of Protestant reformers in the first Italian edition. The oldest nucleus consists of books from the Evangelical Christian Community of Bergamo. The increase in assets takes place through ordinary acquisitions and donations.

Protestant Cultural Centre
via Torquato Tasso, 55
Bergamo
website

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Additional touristic information

Information

Short Info

The Protestant Cultural Center is a lay association active since 1993 to promote the knowledge of Protestantism.

Geography

It is located in the center of Lower Bergamo, in viale Roma 2B. Bergamo, a city of about 120,000 inhabitants, capital of the homonymous Lombard province, is divided into two distinct parts: the «Lower Town» and the «Upper Town». The latter is placed at a higher altitude and hosts the majority of the most significant monuments. The “Lower City” is instead the most modern and urbanized part. The two portions of the town are separated by the Venetian walls, counted since 2017 among the UNESCO World Heritage sites. As well as on foot and by bus number 1, the easiest way to get to Upper Cityis with the funicular, active since 1887.

Sights

The Protestant Cultural Center is located in a building on the ground floor in the internal courtyard of Via Tasso, 55. Via Tasso is part of the shopping area and the “struscio” of Bergamo, with numerous shops and historical places. Near the Protestant Cultural Center it is also possible to visit the Donizetti Theater, a historic theater that hosts a large calendar of prose and opera performances, as well as classical and jazz concerts. At one end of Via Tasso, towards the “Sentierone” (the main axis of the town’s promenade), in the Dominican church of San Bartolomeo it is possible to admire the Martinengo Pala by Lorenzo Lotto, a painter active in the years of the battle between the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. At the opposite end, via Tasso leads into piazza Santo Spirito.

In the church of the same name is the Pala of Santo Spirito, still by Lorenzo Lotto. Adjacent to the church of Santo Spirito you can visit the cloisters, now occupied by small restaurants and commercial premises, once part of the convent of the Lateran Canons, where the young Girolamo Zanchi, the Italian theologian and reformer, was trained before moving to Lucca, where he would later met the reformer Pietro Martire Vermigli.

From piazza Santo Spirito, go up via Pignolo: artery of the historic village that joins Lower Bergamo with Upper Bergamo, coming out against the sixteenth-century Venetian walls, at Porta Sant’Agostino.

Events

The calendar of initiatives organized by the Protestant Cultural Center can be consulted at www.protestanti.bergamo.it
The Protestant Cultural Center also periodically publishes a paper newsletter, available on site, in which it informs about the various activities.

Accessibiliy

Road Transport

Exit Bergamo of the A4 Turin-Venice motorway. Upper City is a limited traffic area. There is an area equipped for campers www.areacamperbergamo.it

Train

The Bergamo train station is well connected to the railway stations of Milan and Brescia.

Bus Transport

Regular motorway connections with Milan.

Airport

The Bergamo-Orio al Serio airport is connected with more than one hundred destinations and is the third largest airport in Italy in terms of number of passengers. It is located about 5 km from the city. In addition to taxis, there are regular public bus connections (ATB).

Our heritage

Historic Buildings

The entire building in Via Tasso 55 (including the current headquarters of the Protestant Cultural Center) has been owned by the church since 1929. On that date Elena Frizzoni widow Sulzer donated it to the Evangelical Christian Community of Bergamo. The building, home of Elena Frizzoni, was known as “Casa Steiner Saluzzi” (from the name of the mother Emilia).

Natural Attractions

Bergamo is surrounded by the greenery of the 4,700 hectares of Parco dei Colli, to be explored on foot or by bicycle through the numerous and suggestive paths. Inside the Parco dei Colli is a monastic complex of Vallombrosian origin, founded in the 11th century.

Availability

The Protestant Cultural Center and the “Gerolamo Zanchi” Library are open every Wednesday from 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm and on the occasion of the calendared initiatives, available on the website www.protestanti.bergamo.it
In addition to during opening hours, it is possible to arrange a visit by directly contacting the Protestant Cultural Center.

Contacts:
Luciano Zappella, 0039.340.4630991
Francesca Tasca, 0039.347.3311076
Giulio Orazio Bravi, 0039.333.6986587


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