The cloister of Santa Marta in Bergamo: from the restoration by Luigi Angelini to the current context of the new Piacentiniano Centre

During the first half of the 20th century, the town of Bergamo was concerned with significant planning interventions. The engineer and architect Luigi Angelini prepares a recovery plan for the Upper Town, which will become a point of reference for many later activities in historic urban settings. In the Lower Town, the Piacentiniano Centre, a new administrative, financial, and cultural heart, is built on the old town layout, but without completely cancelling its memory and characteristics. The restoration of the cloister of Santa Marta fits into the latter context. While being a child of its time, it expresses an idea of architectural conservation as a tool to read and understand the past, placing it at the service of a contemporary enhancement of the territory. Based on the idea of fluidity and sharing, it promotes a very modern approach, which is today confronted with the new major redevelopment project of the Piacentiniano Centre that the municipal administration is carrying out.