A small sports capital, in first place in the Sole 24 Ore city ranking: origins and reasons for a boom
Bergamo is high, very high, more than any other: it is the leading city in Italy for quality of life, it leads in football for quality of play and results. And in world skiing she stands out with the daring descents and ascents of the stainless Sofia Goggia. All records linked to a territory that has shown a formidable capacity for relaunch. After 35 years without ever getting on the podium, the province of Bergamo takes first place in the ranking drawn up by the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.
comeback
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The performance comes with a comeback that started after the terrible Covid period, in 2020, with Bergamo counting the deaths from the devastating pandemic. Also in 2020, in the midst of an emergency, Atalanta came close to achieving an exploit in Europe: in the final round of the Champions League, set up to complete the competition, in the quarter-finals they only surrendered in injury time to the billionaire PSG, who achieved an upset in three minutes after the 90th minute. How many regrets for an opportunity that who knows when would have arisen again. But no: the catwalk in Lisbon as the only representative of our football was a first sign of what would then happen.
system
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In 2020 Bergamo was 52nd in the special ranking of Italian cities, now it looks down on everyone. Economists recognize its ability to create a system with an efficient network of infrastructures: thus high standards of profitability are guaranteed and interaction between the public and private sectors is facilitated even further. The most evident phenomenon is the growth of the Orio al Serio hub, which has become the third national airport behind Fiumicino and Malpensa. The Covid experience has given a decisive boost to a territory that has multiplied its energy and resources for immediate redemption.
growth
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The high jump is evident, it goes hand in hand with Atalanta’s exploits, proudly displayed by the entire city. The management of the Percassi family, from the founder Antonio to his son Luca, former defenders accustomed to attacking, brings the Nerazzurri club to exceptional positions. Actually no, sorry: the adjective is not accurate. There is little exceptional here anymore, given that the habit at the top is consolidated. Indeed, what is strange in seeing the winner of the Europa League, who overwhelms the German champions in the final, at the top of the championship? Let’s face it: the surprise effect is gone. Guardiola, with the coldness of a dominator, compared challenges with the Goddess to sessions at the dentist. Adriano Galliani, after having collected five European Cups with Milan, when he took charge of Berlusconi’s Monza, indicated Atalanta as a reference model, also for its impact on the local community.
project
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Balance, healthy balance sheets, club stage, nursery development, huge scouting work: all with sustainability as the main objective. Never take a step longer than you can chew. Do you remember Oronzo Canà, alias Lino Banfi, in The Coach in the Balloon? For his Longobard he dreamed of “Rrummeniggee!”. Here, with Percassi and Gasperini it’s a completely different film: no comedies, Italian, or rather continental, neorealism genre, after the triumph in Dublin in May. Atalanta first in Serie A, Goggia still speeding on the snow, Bergamo leading the league in Italy: it seems like a coincidence, it seems… It’s not a sensation, the city of the Thousand is taking things more and more seriously.
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