Gluten-Free Bergamo: bakery, fish and chips, gelato and shops for coeliacs

Bergamo is two towns, and the places on this page sit in both. In Città Alta, the upper town inside the Venetian walls, three of them are on or next to Via Colleoni and Via Gombito, a few minutes on foot from Piazza Vecchia: Spacca · Città Alta, entirely gluten-free; Minuscoli, a mixed bakery with gluten-free bread and bakes every day; and Gelateria Domus, a mixed gelateria. Città Bassa, the lower town, has the rest of the core: Privø, an entirely gluten-free bakery on Via Baioni, and Frish, an entirely gluten-free fish and chips shop in Borgo Santa Caterina, each about 5 minutes on foot from the Accademia Carrara; Gelato al Quadrato on Via Tasso, a short walk from the Sentierone; and El Boss del Taco in Borgo Palazzo, about 10 minutes on foot from the Sentierone, all by our estimate. Farina&Co. and the two entirely gluten-free shops, Celiachia Point Bergamo and Bergamo Senza Glutine, are a bus or taxi ride away. The City funicular links the two towns, from Città Bassa up to Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe in about 2 minutes, says the tourist board; the old stone stairways take about 15 to 20 minutes on foot, and ATB’s bus 1 runs from the station through Porta Nuova up to Città Alta. Inside the walls, Piazza Vecchia, the Duomo, the Cappella Colleoni and Santa Maria Maggiore are all within about 5 minutes of each other on foot, and the station is about 10 minutes on foot from the Sentierone, by our estimate.

A day that works (not a Tuesday, when the Accademia Carrara is closed): breakfast at Privø, an entirely gluten-free bakery and pastry shop, with whatever came out of the oven that morning; check its hours on its page before you go, as its card says. The Accademia Carrara is about 5 minutes on foot from there, by our estimate, and opens at 10:00. From the museum, walk up to Città Alta, about 15 to 20 minutes on foot and uphill, by our estimate. Lunch is at Spacca on Via Colleoni, entirely gluten-free: any Spacca, sweet or savoury. Then Piazza Vecchia, the Campanone (there is a lift), the Cappella Colleoni, Santa Maria Maggiore and the Duomo, all a few minutes apart. Gelato is at Gelateria Domus, a few steps from Piazza Vecchia: a mixed counter, but its own site lists all its gelato and all its cones as gluten-free; ask before anything else goes on top. Ride the San Vigilio funicular up from Colle Aperto for the castle and the views, then take the City funicular down. Dinner is at Frish in Borgo Santa Caterina, where the whole menu is gluten-free, batter and chips included; book ahead on busy evenings.

Across Italy, many places belong to the coeliac association’s eating-out programme, Alimentazione Fuori Casa (AFC). AIC calls them «informati», informed: staff trained on coeliac disease, AIC’s rules for preparing gluten-free food, a signed agreement, and an in-depth visit from AIC at least once a year. It is not a certificate, and joining is voluntary: plenty of kitchens serve gluten-free food outside it. In Lombardy, a place that serves pizza must have an oven just for gluten-free pizza before it can join, and every member gets a new AFC sticker for its window each year, so look for it at the door. AIC’s list of member places is for its members. On this page, El Boss del Taco, a Mexican taqueria in Borgo Palazzo, says «Gluten Free AIC» on its own profile: in a mixed kitchen, an AIC link is a strong signal, not a guarantee. AIC advises booking ahead so the kitchen can get ready. When you book, and every time you order, say you have coeliac disease: «Sono celiaco» or «Sono celiaca».

Bergamo’s own food is where the traps are. Polenta is gluten-free at the base, but ask «Nel sugo o nel brodo c’è farina?» (is there flour in the sauce or the stock?) and about anything fried alongside. Casoncelli, the stuffed pasta, are wheat, and so is polenta e osei, the yellow sponge-and-marzipan cake in the bakery windows. At Minuscoli, a mixed bakery, ask for gluten-free items that are packed, or packed separately for you. Farina&Co., south of the centre, is a wheat pizzeria with a gluten-free option, so ask «Come preparate la pizza senza glutine? Impasto, banco e forno sono separati?» (how do you make the gluten-free pizza? Are the dough, the work surface and the oven kept separate?). At Gelato al Quadrato, ask about the cones and take a cup if unsure. In December, around Santa Lucia, a Bergamo tradition, stalls line the Sentierone with candyfloss and frittelle: frittelle are fried dough, and nothing on this page says any stall is gluten-free. For the airport or a day at the lakes, stock up at Celiachia Point Bergamo, a shop entirely for gluten-free food; pharmacies (farmacie) carry gluten-free staples too.