San Paolo d'Argon (

Bergamasque The Bergamasque dialect is the western variant of the Eastern Lombard group of the Lombard language. It is mainly spoken in the province of Bergamo and in the area around Crema, in central Lombardy. Bergamasque has official status in the p ...

: ) is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (municipality) of 5,721 inhabitants in the Province of Bergamo in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region of Lombardy, located about northeast of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and about east of Bergamo. The commune is located at the beginning of the Cavallina Valley and it's crossed by two main roads: the Strada Statale 42 del Tonale e della Mendola and the Provincial Road 91 to the

Lake Iseo Lake Iseo or Iseo lake ( ; it, Lago d'Iseo ; lmo, Lach d'Izé, label=Eastern Lombard), also known as Sebino (; la, Sebinus), is the fourth largest lake in Lombardy, Italy, fed by the Oglio River. It is in the north of the country in the Val ...

. It is home to a large

Cluniac The Cluniac Reforms (also called the Benedictine Reform) were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement began wi ...

monastery, founded in 1079. It was restored in the 16th century, as shown by the perfectly geometrical

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

cloisters (1500 and 1532). In the former refectory there are frescoes (1624) by

Giovanni Battista Lorenzetti Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * '' Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend ...

. The annexed church, dedicated to the Conversion of Saint Paul, was rebuilt between 1684 and 1690 on an ancient romanesque one and represents one of the most impressive examples of Baroque architecture in Bergamo. Its white façade in local

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

dates back to 1690. The single wide nave's vault is completely decorated with frescoes by Giulio Quaglio (1712–13). Three little chapels open up on the two sides of the nave. Other artworks include canvasses by

Giuseppe Maria Crespi Giuseppe Maria Crespi (March 14, 1665 – July 16, 1747), nicknamed Lo Spagnuolo ("The Spaniard"), was an Italian late Baroque painter of the Bolognese School. His eclectic output includes religious paintings and portraits, but he is now most ...

, Sebastiano Ricci and

Antonio Balestra Antonio Balestra (12 August 1666 – 21 April 1740) was an Italian painter of the Rococo period. Biography Born in Verona, he first apprenticed there with Giovanni Zeffio. By 1690 he moved to Venice, where he worked for three years under Ant ...

. The bell tower was rebuilt in 1738 as reported on its eastern side too. Until the early 20th century, the town was known as Buzzone, while the name "San Paolo d'Argon" designed the monastic complex. From 1929 to 1948 San Paolo d'Argon was united with the neighbouring villages of

Cenate Sotto Cenate Sotto (Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about east of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,947 and an ...

and

Cenate Sopra Cenate Sopra (Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about east of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,248 and an ...

forming a single commune called ''Cenate d'Argon''.

Sport

The main football team of the municipality is the San Paolo d'Argon, which currently plays in the Lombard league of promotion. In the past the team played for seven consecutive seasons in the National Amateur Championship (the current

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...

), since

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, the year in which it ended the championship in fourth place in the standings, until

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, when it closed his group to the penultimate place in the standings, thus relegating to Excellence. In the village there is another sport, the MTB school San Paolo d'Argon (mountain bike). It was founded in 2005 with 35 associates and headed by President Gherardi Stefano. The teams are divided into three levels: very young (7-12 years), rookies (13-16 years) and juniors (17-18 years). The rookie team won two medals in the 2012 regional championship and the second place in the Italian league for the company in Piacenza.

References

External links

Official website
{{Bergamo-geo-stub