BERGAMO, a province, or, as it is usually termed, a delegation, of the Austrian kingdom of Lombardy. It is bounded on the north by the delegation of Valtelino, on the east by those of Tyrol and Brescia, on the south by Cremona, Lodi, and Crema, and on the west by Milan and Como. The extent is about 1615 square miles, or 1,033,600 acres. It is divided into 18 districts, and these into 372 communes or parishes, and comprehends one city, 22 market-towns, and 333 villages. Pop. (1851) 378,123.
The whole northern part of the delegation is filled with the Alpine mountains, whose spurs extend to the capital; but the southern division forms part of the plain of Lombardy. The country is deficient in corn; but the surplus of cattle, with iron from the mines in the northern part, and the silk produced in the southern, are exchanged for the grain required by the inhabitants. There are manufactures of silk, and of woollen goods. There are some quarries of marble, and of other kinds of stone from which grindstones and whetstones are cut and prepared for exportation.
The capital of the province is the city of the same name, laid out on several elevations in the form of an amphitheatre, surrounded with walls and ditches, and defended by two insignificant forts. It is the see of a bishop, and the seat of the provincial courts of law; and comprehends, besides the
cathedral, fourteen churches, four hospitals, six orphan-houses, a number of monasteries and nunneries, town-hall, college, athenaum, public library, &c. Its principal manufactures are silk, woollen, cotton, and linen goods, hardware, &c. The largest fair in northern Italy is annually held here in the month of August, and continues for a fortnight. Pop. 32,000. Bernardo Tasso, the father of the illustrious Torquato was born here in 1493.