What Trattoria Parietti is

Local coverage describes Parietti as a historic trattoria that has been a refuge for hungry visitors for more than forty years, with its sign appearing on the little piazza opposite the church of San Rocco since 1974. The room is small and closely packed, with green tablecloths and a little kitchen along the entrance side. The walls are painted with bucolic scenes of the Bergamasque countryside, and a large vase of plastic flowers hangs from the ceiling like a chandelier. It is unpretentious rather than polished, and that is part of the appeal.

Where it sits: Castagneta, above Città Alta

The trattoria stands in the small cluster of houses called Castagneta, on a road that historically led beyond the hills into Val Brembana. From Colle Aperto the road winds up through woods and along Valverde, and the feeling of being out in the countryside arrives quickly even though the centre of Città Alta is only a few hundred metres behind you. Weekend Bergamo lists the address as Via Costantino Beltrami, 52, in Bergamo's 24129 postcode. The approach is a climb from Città Alta, so most visitors come on foot, by taxi or by car.

What to order

Parietti is not a one-dish house. Alongside the expected polenta, casoncelli alla bergamasca and boards of cured meats, the kitchen sends out simple first courses, roasts, brasati (slow-braised meat), polpettoni (large meatballs) attributed to Grandma Ines, and even prawn or squid skewers and a gratinated sea bass fillet, according to local coverage. For a first visit, the plate to aim for is polenta taragna with rabbit: the local press singles out the rabbit as plump and full of flavour, with the taragna holding its own. You can add trifolati mushrooms on the side if you want a third element on the plate.

Casoncelli alla bergamasca are the local stuffed pasta to know: small filled parcels that are one of Bergamo's standard primi and appear on the Parietti menu alongside polenta and cured meats. Boards of affettati (sliced cured meats) are another way in, and the kitchen is described as a proper osteria in the sense that the menu runs beyond the classic trio of polenta, casoncelli and salumi.

The photo-album menu and what it tells you

The menu here is a real album of photographs, printed in a classic photo format rather than as a typed list of courses. Local coverage describes them as blunt pictures of dishes, sometimes straightforward portraits, sometimes staged in a recognisable corner of the trattoria. That format means you are choosing with your eyes rather than reading descriptions, and it makes the carte a talking point as much as a list.

How locals and visitors mix

The dining room fills with Bergamaschi first, recognisable by accent and dialect, and with foreign visitors carrying guidebooks and speaking English and German. A grandmother with a grandchild at a table by the window is the kind of scene the local press uses to signal that this is a sincere, everyday place rather than a tourist construct. Parietti sits within easy reach of Città Alta and its sights, so you can combine lunch with a wander down towards Piazza Vecchia and a stop at Caffè del Tasso nearby.

Drinks and the finish

Wine here is not the point of the visit. Local coverage describes it as measured in generous quartini (quarter-litre carafes) of Valcalepio, preferably red, which is the local Bergamasque wine and a sensible match for polenta and braised meats. After the main course and before coffee, the customary finish is a few slices of salame bergamasco, a coarse local salami that rounds off the meal neatly. Drink moderately if you are driving or walking back down the hill afterwards.

How to get there

The route up is on foot from Città Alta: walk through the old town to Colle Aperto, then continue uphill along the winding road towards San Vigilio. The trattoria sits by the bus stop in the Castagneta group of houses, directly opposite the church of San Rocco. The walk up is part of the experience: the road twists through woods and past low walls, and the sense of leaving the city behind comes quickly. If you are arriving by car, Via Costantino Beltrami is the street to aim for.

Dishes to know: polenta taragna and casoncelli

Polenta taragna is a bergamasco staple made with a mix of buckwheat and maize flour, stirred slowly and often finished with butter and local cheese. It comes out dark, dense and savoury, and it is the right base for the rabbit at Parietti: the meat is served with its sauce, and the polenta soaks up what is left on the plate. Casoncelli alla bergamasca, the half-moon stuffed pasta mentioned above, are the other dish to know before you sit down. Between the two you have a fair picture of what the Bergamo hills eat in autumn and winter.

Is Parietti worth the climb?

If you want a plate of polenta taragna with rabbit in a room that feels like a Bergamasque Sunday lunch, Parietti earns the walk up from Colle Aperto. The trade-off is a small, busy dining room and a menu that asks you to point at photographs rather than read descriptions, so go with an appetite and a willingness to ask what is good. If you would rather stay in Città Alta itself, La Marianna is the other long-standing address to keep in mind for a different kind of stop.