A place immersed in history and nature, at the foot of the Orobic Alps.
The towns of Val Gandino (Bergamo) offer endless surprises.
Gandino proposes the monumental Basilica of S.Maria Assunta [l'Assomption], the Museo di Arte Sacra [Museum of Sacred Art] (gold, silver and lace objects, which make it one of the first museums in the world of its kind) and the Museo dei Presepi [Nursery Museum], the former Convent of the Ursuline Sisters, and an old town dotted with churches and mansions.
Casnigo, on the other hand, is the homeland of baghèt (the old Bergamasque bagpipe) and that of the Sanctuaries, with the Santuario della Ss.Trinità [of the Holy Trinity] (a Sistine chapel covered with frescoes of rare beauty) and that of Madonna Erbia [of the Blessed Virgin of Erbia], which preserves the last cassock of Pope John Paul II.
The entire epic of textiles is revived in machines, still working, from the Textile Museum of Leffe, where it is possible to browse the entire textile industry, from silkworms to looms, through the twisting machines and chard.
Cazzano and Peia offer the vitality of dynamic villages and natural beauties, which unite a myriad of small townships.
The enogastronomy offers traditional dishes, cheeses, sausages, and especially specialties based on Mais Spinato [corn grain sharp] Gandino.
The bouquet of events includes, in Gandino, the Triduo with the great monstrance (exhibited in the Basilica on the second Sunday of Lent) and the Fair of Saint Joseph on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Unforgettable, the phantasmagorical Procession of Corpus Christi, or the Race of the Eggs the day before the first Sunday of July.
It is in Gandino that the red shirts of the Thousand of Garibaldi were dyed, and it is here that is preserved (in the church of Saint Maur annexed to the Convent of the Ursulines) the relic of the frock of the holy Father Pio of Pietrelcina. Festivals, concerts, parties and markets round out this picture framed by pleasant mountain areas, which can be explored on foot, by mountain bike, with snowshoes or cross-country skis (the approved ring track of Montagnina suitable for really passionate amateurs).
In Casnigo the Sports Center offers swimming pools and fitness centers, but in the surroundings there are plenty of outdoor and indoor sports grounds.
In Cirano there is an archery field; on the steep slopes of Fontanei there are many climbing routes, while the most daring can take off from Mount Farno, thanks to the paragliding school.
