Discover Clusone: Art, History and Active Holidays

Clusone between Art and Nature

Clusone combines impressive art, religious heritage and a variety of trails for active days. If you choose a holiday apartment in Clusone, you can shape your stay around museums, historic buildings, family experiences and outdoor activities. The Visit Clusone Infopoint provides tourist information and informational materials about Clusone as well as the ValSeriana and Val di Scalve.

Clocks, Frescoes and Historic Buildings

In a 17th-century palace decorated with frescoes, the MAT displays an extensive collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures and reliefs by artists from Clusone and other places. The MAT also houses rare examples of tower clock mechanisms from different periods from the Collezione Gorla, which was entrusted to the Province of Bergamo and assigned to Clusone.

The Oratorio dei Disciplini stands directly next to the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta and was built around the middle of the 14th century by the Brotherhood of the Disciplini. Inside is a fresco cycle from 1485, created by the painter Giacomo Borlone de Buschis, who came from Clusone. The exterior façade features the frescoes “Danza Macabra” and “Trionfo della morte”; the fresco there is considered one of the best preserved in Europe. Fanzago’s astronomical clock is a masterpiece by Pietro Fanzago dating from 1583. A single hand indicates the hour, month, day, zodiac sign and phases of the moon. The clock is completely preserved and is one of the few clocks of its time that still function with their original parts.

The Museo della Basilica comprises three oratories and eight rooms dedicated to preserving Clusone’s religious art collection. Exhibits include 15th-century wooden panels, historic paintings, votive offerings, reliquaries from the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as liturgical clothing and vestments. The Chiesetta della Santissima Trinità was built between 1590 and 1595 on the summit of the “Crosio” hill. The Chiesa del Paradiso was created in the 16th century as an extension of a 15th-century monastery and houses paintings by the artists Domenico Carpinoni, Antonio Cifrondi, Giovan Battista Brighenti and Giovanni Trussardi Volpi, who came from Clusone. Palazzo Fogaccia dates from the period between the late 17th and early 18th centuries and features elaborate frescoes and neoclassical paintings in its interiors and corridors. The façade of Palazzo Comunale is decorated with votive frescoes and coats of arms of Venetian noble families, recalling Clusone’s political and economic affiliation with the Republic of Venice from the 15th to the 19th century. The Chiesa di San Defendente e Rocco is believed to incorporate an oratory that already existed around 900 AD.

Trails, Bike Tours and Winter Sports

For walks, the Pineta di Clusone offers more than 22 kilometres of footpaths. There is also a ski-roller circuit, as well as the ValSeriana cycling and walking path. The easy Family Tour is a cycling route designed for the whole family to explore the Clusone plateau and its natural and artistic features. The easy Sentiero delle Ore forest trail begins near San Lucio and is between 500 metres and 1.5 kilometres long, depending on the starting point.

There is also a specific sporting option in winter: the “La Spessa” cross-country ski trail is 1,800 metres long and features loops and climbs suitable for every technical level. At the Falesia Seraia climbing wall, there are routes on inclined and vertical slabs; it has been re-equipped with resin-bonded bolts and faces completely south. Parco Milesi adds another option as a public green space equipped for relaxation and leisure, with areas for children and walking paths.

Getting There and Further Destinations

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. For your regional planning, you can also include Mozzo, Stalettì, Vigolo, Sorisole, Roncobello, Bracca, Branzi and Terno D'isola.

For the higher-level travel overview: Bergamo.