Lovere

Lovere is a town and comune in the province of Bergamo, in Lombardy, Italy, at the northwest end of Lake Iseo.

The houses in the city have overhanging wooden roofs, typical of Switzerland, united with the heavy stone arcades of Italy; it faces a lake and has a semicircle of mountains behind. Lovere is part of The most beautiful villages in Italy, an Association that notes small Italian towns of strong artistic and historical interest.

History

The first known settlement in Lovere area dates to the 5th and 4th century BC, being of Celtic origin. Later it was conquered by the Romans, attracted by its strategical position at the end of the Val Camonica and the beginning of the Val Cavallina, as well as for the naval transport on the Lake Iseo.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire it was ruled by the Lombards and the Franks. Given to the monks of the Marmoutier Abbey, it was sold to the Bishops of Bergamo, who, at the time of the Guelphs and Ghibellines struggle, were in turn replaced by the Celeri family. The fights lasted until the mid-15th century, when the territory was conquered by the Republic of Venice, whose rule lasted until the French invasion in 1797.