Tempietto S. Croce ---

The prestigious ecclesiastical complex of Bergamo Alta, composed of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and the Cathedral, is completed by the Tempietto di Santa Croce, today more secluded but once an integral element of the city center. The building is mentioned as early as a document from 1133 and defined as a "capella episcopi", that is, the bishop's chapel. What function did this small building have at that time? Connected to the ancient Palazzo vescovile, as well as to the Basilica, it constituted the Aula della Curia where the Bishop held audiences. It is composed of two overlapping volumes, one with a quadrilobate plan and the other octagonal, and it echoes the central scheme of other Romanesque buildings located in the province of Bergamo, such as the Rotonda di San Tomè in Almenno San Bartolomeo, the basilica of Santa Giulia in Bonate sotto and the