Clusone: Frescoes, Museums and Trails

Clusone brings together different aspects of a stay: art collections, sacred architecture and art history, green spaces and routes for getting active. When looking for a hotel, you can first consider whether museums and historic art or trails and sporting activities will shape your stay.

Art Collections and Religious Heritage

Housed in a 17th-century palace decorated with frescoes, MAT displays paintings, drawings, sculptures and reliefs by artists from Clusone and elsewhere. The Collezione Gorla adds to this focus with rare examples of clock mechanisms from different periods. The collection was entrusted to the Province of Bergamo and assigned to Clusone.

The Museo della Basilica preserves Clusone’s religious art collection across three oratories and eight halls. Its holdings include 15th-century wooden panels, historic paintings, votive offerings and reliquaries from the 17th and 18th centuries. There are also liturgical vestments and altar furnishings. The different collections each have their own focus: MAT brings together artworks in various genres and the history of clock mechanisms, while the Museo della Basilica gathers religious objects.

Clock and Frescoes

The Fanzago astronomical clock was made by Pietro Fanzago in 1583. A single hand shows the hour, month, day, zodiac sign and phases of the moon. The clock is fully preserved and is one of the few of its time still working with its original parts. If you are travelling to Clusone specifically to see the clock, it is advisable to check its current condition in advance.

The Oratorio dei Disciplini stands beside the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta and was built by the Disciplini brotherhood around the middle of the 14th century. Inside is a cycle of frescoes dating to 1485, created by the Clusone-born painter Giacomo Borlone de Buschis. The exterior façade features the frescoes “Danza Macabra” and “Trionfo della morte”; one of the two is among the best-preserved in Europe.

Churches and Palaces

The Chiesa del Paradiso also combines architectural history and painting: it was built in the 16th century as an extension of a 15th-century monastery. Its paintings include works by Clusone-born artists Domenico Carpinoni, Antonio Cifrondi, Giovan Battista Brighenti and Giovanni Trussardi Volpi. The façade of Palazzo Comunale offers a different view of the town’s history. Votive frescoes and the coats of arms of Venetian families recall Clusone and its territory’s political and economic ties to the Republic of Venice from the 15th to the 19th century.

Palazzo Fogaccia dates from the late 17th to the early 18th century. Its interiors and corridors feature elaborate frescoes and neoclassical paintings. These examples range from religious collections and church art to the decoration of historic palaces.

Parks, Trails and Sporting Routes

Parco Milesi is a public green space equipped for recreation and leisure, with areas for children and walking paths. The Pineta di Clusone has more than 22 kilometres of footpaths, as well as a ski-roller circuit and the ValSeriana cycle and footpath. As trail conditions can change, it is advisable to check local conditions before setting out.

The Family Tour is an easy bike ride for the whole family, designed to explore the Clusone plateau and its natural and artistic features. The easy woodland trail Sentiero delle Ore starts near San Lucio and is 500 metres to 1.5 kilometres long, depending on the starting point; conditions may vary seasonally. For cross-country skiing, there is the 1,800-metre “La Spessa” trail, with loops and climbs for every technical level. Check snow and access conditions before making a special trip.

At the Falesia Seraia climbing wall, routes run across sloping and vertical faces. It has been re-equipped with resin-bonded bolts and faces due south. The activities therefore differ not only in theme, but also in the specific features described: from walking trails and bike rides to cross-country skiing and climbing routes.

Getting There and Finding Your Way

If travelling from Milan, take the Bergamo/Orio al Serio exit on the A4 motorway, then continue via SS470/Gorle, SP35 Nembro/Valseriana, and finally along SS671 towards Clusone. The Visit Clusone information point offers tourist information and materials about Clusone, ValSeriana and Val di Scalve. If you plan to make use of its support, it is best to confirm the current arrangements before your trip.

When choosing a hotel in Clusone, you can consider the cultural sites and leisure activities described as different priorities for planning your trip.

Discover more destinations: Mozzanica, Tavernola Bergamasca, Paladina, Valtorta, Valbondione, Villongo, Clanezzo, Presezzo.

Return to the main travel overview: Bergamo.