Crushed by the sun, rocked by the haunting song of the cicadas, the upper town of Bergamo is bathed in summer lethargy. At the end of July, the cobbled alleys that lead to Piazza Vecchia, the historic heart of the Lombard city, are almost deserted. Usually, it is necessary to dribble the tourists with virtuosity to survey this little architectural gem surrounded by Venetian walls. The Covid-19 pandemic has passed this way. Quietude betrays worry. Torpor rhymes with fear. The resumption of activity is timid.
“Our hotel has 154 rooms and only 13 are occupied, sums up, fatalistically, the receptionist of the Excelsior San Marco, ideally located at the foot of the funicular. With all that they have seen and heard, people have reason to be reluctant to come. "It must be said that times have changed ... The images of army trucks evacuating the remains to relieve saturated mortuaries still haunt people's minds.
“Yet it's all just a memory. The memory of a nightmare, certainly, but a memory, insists Marco Dell'Oro, deputy editor of the regional newspaper Eco di Bergamo. The hospital has resumed its normal life, the offices are gradually reopening. What happened to us is inconceivable. We invent answers day by day in all areas. But tourism remains blocked in both directions. We avoid saying where we come from so as not to have our reservations canceled. "
The Dea in the genes from motherhood
In this town of 122,000 inhabitants, 50 km north-east of Milan, surgical masks, hydroalcoholic gel and thermometer govern daily life. By hand or using thermal sensors, in administrations or on restaurant terraces, the slightest temperature above 37.5 ° is tracked. Otherwise, please wait until the heat is over or turn back.
The only authorized fever is that of Calcio. "The place of football is enormous," continues Dell'Oro. There has always been a great identity between the city and the team. Normally, in Italy, 50% of the inhabitants are for the local club and 50% for a big one like Juventus, Inter or AC Milan. In Bergamo there is more than 80% of Atalanta tifosis. "
Opponent of PSG in the quarter-finals of the Champions League this Wednesday, the Dea (Editor's note: goddess) is in the genes. In the maternity ward of the now famous Ospedale Papa Giovanni XXIII, a cupboard houses small cardboard boxes in the shape of a house with blue or pink inscriptions and the design of a stork. Inside, a nerazurri swimsuit (black and blue) offered to each newborn. “This is so that every child born in these places knows that he is part of the family,” sums up the director Maria Beatrice Stasi.
"We cultivate suffering and especially toil"
The virus destroyed bodies (nearly 17,000 deaths in the region), broke hearts, tortured souls. But also highlights the virtues of the Bergamo people. Its faculties of resilience, surpassing oneself and solidarity. At the start of the confinement, the Ultras de la Curva Nord actively participated in the construction of a hospital of misfortune near the local fair. Last month, they gave the hospital a check for 60,000 euros corresponding to the reimbursement of the trip they had not been able to make to Valencia, on March 10, for the round of 16 second leg of the Champions League.
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"Before being Ultras, we are citizens, all very close," smiles Mattia, 27, Dea polo shirt on her shoulders and jersey in hand at the exit of the official store. Supporting his team is one thing, but we must all do everything to keep Bergamo standing. We all suffered together, we all reacted together. "
Insieme da semper, insieme per semper (Editor's note: together forever, together forever) . The motto bars the faded wall of Piazzale Olimpiade, alongside Atleti Azzurri d'Italia stadium, renamed Gewiss Stadium, which is in the process of being refreshed. “You really have to be wary of clichés about Italy in general,” says Mayor Giorgio Gori. Bergamo is not Naples or Rome. We cultivate suffering and above all labor. This was also our weakness in a short time at the end of February. With our work culture, the idea of having to close factories or stores was inconceivable. It is once again our strength to restart the activity. "
Davide Ferrario shares the analysis. "You do not work to earn money or because you are ordered to do so, but because it is your way of life," explains the director and novelist from the Alps, a fan of Atalanta. In the 1950s, we went into exile in France or Belgium. My uncle went to work in the mines. Things have changed, Bergamo has become prosperous, but the spirit remains. We face it with dignity, without cries, without complaints, with our heads held high. "
At the end of March, Claudio Galimberti known as “Il Bocia”, historical leader of the Ultras, 45 years and 25 years cumulative of a ban on stadium, had asked the leaders of the Dea to withdraw from the championship to respect the mourning of the community. “You could say he was wrong,” smiles Mattia. Because the Lombard resurrection also went through the rebirth of Serie A.
“So think that the day of the return to training, the players simply made laps of the field, tells Pietro Serina, journalist specializing in the club. The official website server was full, everyone wanted to see them run! Even at the height of the crisis, the link remained enormous. "
"The players felt death around them"
Captain Papu Gomez and his teammates stood up with the people. “None of them abandoned the city during the pandemic, breathes Davide Ferrario. Some have lived at the training center, they shared the pain while remaining at the heart of the drama. Not like a Ronaldo returned to his island. They were there, they felt death around them and they came back stronger. "
“Atalanta helps relieve pain,” observes Arturo Zambaldo, president of the Friends of Atalanta club, which has 98 sections and more than 6,000 members. Wherever they come from, players give more than normal on the pitch. They know that they transmit happiness. With passion, but without pressure. Here, we are neither intrusive nor exuberant. No autograph or selfie hysteria. “We feel that everyone is behind us but we can go shopping quietly, testifies the midfielder Adrien Tameze, who has just spent six months at the Dea before returning to Nice. The fans are respectful and above all grateful. "
Davide Ferrario would see himself making a film about Atalanta. Or on Bergamo. Well, a bit of both. "It would necessarily be called Non Mollare Mai (Editor's note: Never give up) ," he smiles. Knowing how to get up after falling. This applies to the club as well as to the city. Definitely. Players like Marten De Roon or Robin Gosens are not stars and never will be. But if we appreciate them so much, it's because they never give up… ”
