The history of Il Pianone restaurant

established in 1900

The Pianone was built in the second half of the 1600s on the ruins of a medieval fortress, the outermost point of San Vigilio Castle. The manor house of a large estate in Castagneta, the Pianone is named after its location: a hill which was levelled down by the Viscontis centuries ago for military look-out purposes. In 1740, after having spent about 50 years in Venice, the Mascheroni family returned to their native Bergamo and purchased the Pianone. Lorenzo Mascheroni, a poet and an illustrious mathematician, was actually born here on 13th May 1750. As a member of Napoleon's retinue he then moved to Paris where he died on 14th July 1800 and Bonaparte gave him a state funeral. After being owned by the Mascheronis, the estate was bought and sold several times over the centuries until it became, at the beginning of the 1900s first a "shady area in the country" and subsequently an "inn with lodging".

The current ownership

In 1962, the smart and forward-looking Enrico Panattoni became Il Pianone's new owner and, after extensive refurbishment, he converted the original military outpost into Bergamo's most charming restaurant. Nestled in a luxuriant vegetation in Bergamo Upper town, Il Pianone restaurant is surrounded by flowers carefully grown by Enrico and later by his son Marzio. Today Il Pianone restaurant brings to life the distinctive charm of the past through its marvellous wine cellar, once the powder magazine of the old fortress, the hall with vaulted ceilings and a large fireplace, and the veranda, a fabulous terrace overlooking Bergamo and its valleys.