A Pre-cruise extension Before Our Ponant Cruise in Malta

Bergamo was initially a practical decision when we planned our journey to Malta for our Ponant cruise. There was no convenient direct connection from Lisbon to Malta, and Bergamo offered the ideal routing. What began as a logistical solution quickly became one of the most memorable parts of the entire trip.

Looking back, I am glad we did not simply fly to Malta and wait for embarkation. Bergamo gave us something much more valuable, context, perspective, and an experience that reminded us why we travel in the first place.

Why Bergamo Became the Perfect Pre Cruise Destination

Many travellers treat the days before a cruise as a necessity. We increasingly see them as an opportunity.

Arriving in Bergamo several days before our flight to Malta allowed us to experience the city properly. We explored its gastronomy, its churches, its museums, and most importantly, a temporary exhibition that had long been on Marisa’s radar.

It also confirmed something we often recommend to clients. A pre cruise does not need to happen in the embarkation city itself. Sometimes the most rewarding experiences are found elsewhere, especially when there is a museum, exhibition, concert, or cultural event that genuinely interests you.

The result was a journey that already felt rich and complete before we even stepped aboard the ship.

A Museum That Rewards Attention

The Accademia Carrara immediately impressed me.

I have visited many major museums over the years, from Paris and London to Amsterdam and beyond. The great institutions are extraordinary, but they can also be overwhelming. After several hours, masterpieces begin to compete for attention and memory becomes surprisingly selective.

The Carrara felt different.

Its scale allows you to spend real time with individual works. Instead of rushing through endless galleries, you can stand quietly in front of a painting and allow it to leave a lasting memory for you. The collection includes extraordinary works by Botticelli, Bellini, Mantegna, Titian, Moroni, and Lotto, all of the highlights of 16th century Italian painting.

Smaller museums often leave deeper impressions precisely because they allow concentration, but often don’t have the quality and the famous painters/paintings as Accademia Carrara. 

The Difference a Great Guide Makes

One of the highlights of our visit was spending time with Bergamo's head guide, Sara.

I have been fortunate throughout my life to learn art and art-history from museum directors, gallery owners, and art historians. One lesson has remained constant: A painting is never just paint on a panel.

What impressed me most about Sara was her ability to move beyond description and into meaning. She explained why saints were depicted in certain ways, how symbolism functioned for contemporary audiences, and how artists such as Lorenzo Lotto deliberately departed from established conventions.

We spent far less time discussing what we were seeing and far more time discussing why it existed.

That distinction is important.

With her guidance, I started to understand the paintings, without her, I would have only admired them.

The Unexpected Fascination of Tarot

The original reason for our stop in Bergamo was the temporary Tarot exhibition.

For Marisa, seeing some of the earliest Tarot cards was a long held wish. For me, it was a subject I knew relatively little about.

The exhibition exceeded every expectation.

What fascinated me was that it was not simply an exhibition of cards. It presented an entire Renaissance world. There were magnificent books from great noble families like the Sforza family, early printed materials, paintings, decorative objects, chests, and works of craftsmanship that revealed how deeply these symbolic systems were embedded within courtly culture.

As someone who enjoys bookbinding and has spent years studying historical objects, I found the manuscripts and printed works particularly remarkable like special chain attachment, showing the importance of the information of the codex.

The exhibition demonstrated how symbolism, imagination, politics, art, and daily life often existed far closer together than we tend to assume today.

When Art, Gastronomy, and Expertise Come Together

One of the reasons this journey worked so well was that it extended beyond museums.

Sara was not only an exceptional guide but also a certified cheese judge. During a tasting, she explained texture, ageing, elasticity, flavour development, and the tiny crystallisations that create bursts of intensity in mature cheeses.

Suddenly a piece of cheese became a lesson in craftsmanship and values.

The same principle applied throughout Bergamo. Art was connected to history, history was connected to food, food was connected to local identity.

With a good glass of wine on the table and a passionate expert sharing her knowledge, the region became much easier to understand.

A Different Way to Travel

What Bergamo ultimately reinforced for us is a philosophy we increasingly apply to our own travels and to the journeys we design for clients. The most memorable trips are rarely built around ticking destinations off a list, they are built around interests and experience.

Had we flown directly to Malta, we would have enjoyed a wonderful cruise. Instead, we gained a deeper understanding of Venetian Renaissance culture, discovered one of Italy's finest museums, experienced exceptional local Italian gastronomy, and met a guide whose passion transformed our understanding of the city and made us fall in love with it.

The cruise was extraordinary, but Bergamo ensured that the journey had already begun long before we boarded the ship.