The
Caffé del Tasso is situated in Piazza Vecchia, in the old high
town of Bergamo, one of the most beautiful squares in the world. It is surrounded
by splendid historic civic monuments of notable artistic importance, such
as the Palazzo della Ragione (old court house), the Duomo, the Basilica
of S. Maria maggiore, the very famous Cappella Colleoni (Colleoni chapel) and the
Palazzo nuovo (new Palace).
It is certainly one of the oldest surviving “historic” establishments
that Bergamo’s history has recorded, both in the “low” town
and in the “high” town, which is still defended and surrounded
by the Venetian walls. The “Tasso” opened in 1476 with the name “Locanda
delle due spade” (Two swords inn), and in 1581 took its current name
from the name of the prominent Bergamask family and the statue, in front of
the café, dedicated to their most famous literary son: Torquato