Bergamo ZTL: hours, cameras and who can drive in

Checked on 22 October 2026 against the city's ordinances and official pages.

Photo: Qwesy, CC BY 3.0

Right now in Bergamo

Worked out with Italian time and public holidays from the official hours. The sign at the gate always prevails.

Bergamo is a city on two levels, and its ZTL follows suit. Up on the hill, inside the walls, the historic centre of the Città Alta is closed at all times. Around it lies a second zone, “Città Alta e Colli”, covering the hills and the roads that climb up to the old town, but only on Sundays and public holidays and, from April to October, on Thursday to Saturday evenings. The lower town has a patchwork of small zones.

Two things set Bergamo apart. There is no ticket for visitors: you get in with an entitlement (a hotel or car park inside the zone, an invitation from a resident, an electric car, a disabled badge) or not at all. And since 12 January 2026, cameras have also been fining drivers who leave the historic centre, Valverde or Via Tasso too late.

The zones and their hours

ZTL Centro storico di Città Alta

Piazza Vecchia, Via Gombito, Via Colleoni, the Cittadella and the upper funicular station, between Largo Colle Aperto and Via San Lorenzo. Five cameras check exits.

There are no time slots here: the ban applies day and night, all year round, public holidays included.

The entrances are watched by 10 plate-reading cameras, known as varchi.

List of the 10 cameras (varchi)

Piazza Cittadella · Via Arena · Via San Giacomo · Via San Lorenzo · Via Osmano · Prato della Fara · Via Boccola / Porta San Lorenzo · Via Porta Dipinta (uscita) · Via Porta del Pantano (uscita) · Via Mayr (uscita)

ZTL Città Alta e Colli

The upper town and its hills: Viale Vittorio Emanuele II, Borgo Canale, Astino, San Vigilio. Motorbikes ride freely here. The evening season follows summer time (from the Thursday after the clocks go forward to the Saturday before they go back), so the dates change every year.

It is active at these times:

Outside these hours, access is free.

11 number-plate cameras (“varchi”) watch the entrances.

List of the 11 cameras (varchi)

Viale Vittorio Emanuele II (rotonda Conca d'Oro) · Via Locatelli · Via Borgo Canale · Via Astino · Via Pascolo dei Tedeschi · Via Fontana · Via Castagneta · Via Pelabrocco · Via Botta · Via San Benedetto · Via Sant'Alessandro

ZTL Valverde

The northern approach to Porta San Lorenzo. If you drive in during an open window, you must be out by 9:45 or by 19:45: both cameras also record exits.

It is active at these times:

Outside these hours, access is free.

The entrances are watched by 2 plate-reading cameras, known as varchi.

List of the 2 cameras (varchi)

Via Maironi da Ponte · Via Fara

ZTL via Pelabrocco

A side street of the upper town. The city lists it as camera-controlled but does not name the cameras.

It is closed to unauthorised vehicles 24 hours a day, every day, Sundays and public holidays included: there is no quiet hour when you could slip through.

ZTL via Pignolo Alta, via San Tomaso

Upper Via Pignolo and Via San Tomaso, home of the Accademia Carrara.

It is active at these times:

Outside these hours, access is free.

The entrances are watched by 2 plate-reading cameras, known as varchi.

List of the 2 cameras (varchi)

Via Pignolo (via San Giovanni) · Via Pignolo (viale Vittorio Emanuele II)

ZTL via XX Settembre, via Sant'Alessandro, piazza Pontida

The shopping streets of the lower town, from Via XX Settembre to Piazza Pontida.

There are no time slots here: the ban applies day and night, all year round, public holidays included.

The entrances are watched by 2 plate-reading cameras, known as varchi.

List of the 2 cameras (varchi)

Via XX Settembre · Piazza Pontida

ZTL largo Gavazzeni, piazza Matteotti (teatro Donizetti), largo Belotti

The Piacentini-era centre along the Sentierone, in front of the Teatro Donizetti.

It is closed to unauthorised vehicles 24 hours a day, every day, Sundays and public holidays included: there is no quiet hour when you could slip through.

3 number-plate cameras (“varchi”) watch the entrances.

List of the 3 cameras (varchi)

Largo Gavazzeni · Largo Belotti · Piazza Matteotti (tra via Roma e via Tasso)

ZTL piazza Matteotti, via Borfuro, via Crispi, passaggio Zeduri

The way into the Parcheggio del Centro (Via Borfuro 4), only through the Passaggio Zeduri camera, coming from Via Tiraboschi.

It is closed to unauthorised vehicles 24 hours a day, every day, Sundays and public holidays included: there is no quiet hour when you could slip through.

3 number-plate cameras (“varchi”) watch the entrances.

List of the 3 cameras (varchi)

Passaggio Zeduri · Viale Roma · Via Crispi

ZTL via Tasso, via Pignolo

Via Tasso and lower Via Pignolo, where two cameras check exits.

There are no time slots here: the ban applies day and night, all year round, public holidays included.

3 cameras read number plates: 1 at the entrances and 2 at the exits.

List of the 3 cameras (varchi)

Via Tasso · Via Pignolo, direzione via Verdi (uscita) · Via Pignolo, direzione via Camozzi (uscita)

ZTL via San Bernardino, borgo San Leonardo

Borgo San Leonardo, around Largo Cinque Vie.

It is active at these times:

Outside these hours, access is free.

A single camera checks the entrance.

The camera (varco)

Via San Bernardino

ZTL piazzale Marconi (corsie taxi/bus)

The taxi and bus lanes outside the railway station: stay out of them when dropping someone off.

It is closed to unauthorised vehicles 24 hours a day, every day, Sundays and public holidays included: there is no quiet hour when you could slip through.

Who can drive in

Visitors: hotels, rental cars, tickets

Staying in a hotel

Only accommodation located inside the ZTL can register your number plate. A hotel outside the zone gives you no right to drive in. It must do so no later than 72 hours after you enter, for up to 30 days. Give your plate number to reception as soon as you arrive. To park inside the zone, the hotel can issue you a parking pass (€5 / jour).

Using a car park inside the zone

The garage registers your plate. Check with the attendant when you arrive.

Tickets for non-residents

There is no day ticket for tourists. Temporary permits do exist (€15 for 24 hours, €90 for 7 days), but only for the specific cases the city lists, not for sightseeing. The simplest option is to park outside and walk or take a bus.

Rental cars

The fine notice goes to the rental company, which names you as the driver and usually charges an admin fee, before the fine itself reaches you, sometimes months later. A registration made in time by your hotel or garage covers a rental car just as well: all that counts is the number plate.

The tip that matters: the Fara, Porta Sant'Alessandro and Tre Armi car parks in the upper town can still be reached when the Colli zone is active, as long as you drive up Viale Vittorio Emanuele II from the Conca d'Oro roundabout. At those times it is the only permitted way in to them.

If you are visiting a resident of the Colli, they can have your number plate cleared on Sundays and public holidays, from 12:00 to 14:00 and from 19:00 to midnight, by emailing ATB. In Valverde, residents and shops can register a visitor for 48 hours, provided the car is parked on private ground. A hotel inside the ZTL charges €1 a day for transit only. Electric cars report their plate to ATB within 120 hours; hybrids need a paid permit (€360 for non-residents). The disabled badge follows a local procedure, by email to ATB: no page mentions the national platform.

Exit cameras allow 15 minutes' grace. Other streets are closed without cameras and patrolled by the local police: Via San Francesco d'Assisi (22:00 to 7:00), Via Borgo Palazzo, Via Raboni, Via Orio, Piazza Dante and the school zones. The same goes for the stadium area on Serie A match days, from 2 hours before kick-off to 30 minutes after (in the Finardi district, from 3 hours before).

Bergamo in numbers

Where official sources disagree

If you drive in without a permit

Driving past an active gate without a permit costs €83 to €332 (article 7 of the Italian Highway Code), cut by 30% if you pay within 5 days. Since the 2024 reform, when the passages are recorded by camera rather than by an officer on the spot, only one fine per calendar day applies for the same ban, even if you drive through several times (article 198). No licence points are deducted. If you think you were entitled to enter (hotel, disabled badge), contact the office named on the notice before paying: a late registration can sometimes still be sorted out.

Frequently asked questions

Can I drive up to the Città Alta?

Not into the historic centre, which is closed 24 hours a day. The Fara, Porta Sant'Alessandro and Tre Armi car parks can still be reached via Viale Vittorio Emanuele II.

Is the Bergamo ZTL active on Sundays?

Yes. As well as the historic centre, the Città Alta e Colli zone is closed every Sunday and public holiday from 10:00 to midnight.

What about summer evenings?

The Colli also close from Thursday to Saturday, 21:00 to 1:00, during summer time: in 2026, from 2 April to 24 October.

My hotel is inside the ZTL. What should I do?

Give your number plate to reception. The hotel registers it no later than 72 hours after you enter, at €1 a day (€5 with parking).

I drove through Valverde during an open window. Am I in the clear?

Yes, if you were out by 9:45 or 19:45. Beyond the 15 minutes' grace, the exit camera issues a fine.

Sources

Based on the city's own ordinances, rewritten in plain language. Only the ordinance in force and the sign at the gate are legally binding.