Giovanni XXIII Episcopal Seminary ---

The Giovanni XXIII Episcopal Seminary is situated on the Colle di S. Giovanni, in the historic borough of Bergamo Alta. Over the centuries the educational structure has occupied various locations and the current complex is only its latest incarnation. The Bergamo Seminary was indeed founded in 1567, just a few years after the Council of Trent (1545), which made this type of structure a mandatory requirement for all cathedrals; Bergamo's was the seventh seminary to be founded in the entire world. On October 1st, 1567 it opened at the Chiesa di S. Pancrazio, only to be subsequently transferred in 1572 to the Seminarino di via Tassis, to which it owes its name. Finally, in 1821, the continuous increase in vocations and the educational needs of the students led to its definitive relocation on the Colle. Here stands majestically a