Two tiny medieval villages in the Brembana Valley, each with a surprising claim to fame, make one of the more atmospheric day trips out of Bergamo.
Oneta, near San Giovanni Bianco, is home to the Casa di Arlecchino — the supposed birthplace of the Harlequin character from the commedia dell'arte. The village itself is a well-preserved cluster of stone farmhouses, barns, and narrow lanes. Visits are by reservation only (tel. 0345.43262, hours 10–12 and 15–18), and the nearby Taverna di Arlecchino serves typical local dishes if you want to make a meal of it (tel. 0345.42458).
A few kilometres away, Cornello dei Tasso is the ancestral home of the poet Torquato Tasso and, more unexpectedly, the birthplace of the European postal system. The Tasso family ran a courier network across the continent from here, and the word "taxi" derives from their name. A small museum in the village covers the history of the postal service. The village is car-free and remarkably intact — stone arcades, a medieval church, and almost no modern intrusions. You reach it on foot along an old mule track, which is part of the pleasure.
Come for an afternoon, wear decent shoes, and treat the whole thing as a walk through a Renaissance side street that somehow never closed.