Wine of the Valcalepio and Food of Bergamo Road  

Valcalepio is a hilly area that lies in the western part of the Province of Bergamo, on the downriver right bank of the Oglio. However, in vine-growing terms, the Valcalepio comprisesa much larger area, starting from Lake Iseo and ending near Lake Como, a stretch of land extending for a length of 60 km, although never wider than 5-6 km.
It therefore takes in the last foothills of the Orobic Prealps and, from a geological point of view, it can be divided into two distinct areas on the basis of soil characteristics: from the hill belt east of Bergamo as far as Lake Iseo the soils are clayey and calcareous, while in the area northwest of Bergamo the soils are siliceous and clayey. The DOC wine of this area is made from grapes grown in vineyards covering 300 hectares at altitudes up to 600 m asl. The Wine and Food Road of the Valcalepio is made up of three different routes. The first itinerary, also known as I Conventi (the Road of the Convents), begins at the Capriate S. Gervasio exit on the A4 motorway and ends in Bergamo.

Along the way, visitors may admire the Abbey of Sant’Egidio at Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII, the Abbey of Pontida and the splendid Church of San Tomè at Almenno San Salvatore. The second itinerary, the Cuore della Valcalepio (Heart of the Valcalepio), starts in Bergamo and finishes in Grumello del Monte. This itinerary includes visits to the city of Bergamo, the Abbey of San Paolo D’Argon, the Oratory of Santa Barbara (inside Villa Suardi, at Trescore Balneatico), frescoed by Lorenzo Lotto, and several castles that belonged to the family of the condottiero Bartolomeo Colleoni. The third itinerary, called Il Lago (The Lake), unwinds from the Grumello del Monte exit on the A4 motorway towards Sarnico on Lake Iseo, returning back via a different route and taking in the fifteenth-century Castel de’ Conti at Castelli Calepio.