Bergamo is located at 249 metres above sea-level and it‘s situated exactly where the prealpine valleys of Brembana and Spiana open out into the Po plain. It is divided into two parts: the old part is situated on a hill and has the characteristic look of a medieval village while the modern part of the town has extended into the plain. The upper part of the city is completely surrounded by a wall dating from 1561 when the city belonged to the Venetian Republic. Afterwards it became a district of Serio in the Kingdom of Italy under Napoleon then under Austrian rule as part of Lombardy.