Teams, tales and tips – a guide to the local game
Home of one of Italy’s most pleasingly successful clubs, Atalanta, Bergamo is an affluent city in Lombardy divided into Upper and Lower Towns. Its local economy has benefitted from its status as a budget-air hub convenient for nearby Milan.
The team owes its origins to wealthy Swiss emigrés who founded a Foot Ball Club Bergamo in 1903 – although Atalanta were actually formed in October 1907.
Their first pitch was in via Maglio del Lotto right by the railway lines, today just on the other side of the station from town. After World War I, Atalanta moved out to Daste, towards today’s budget airport of Orio al Serio.
At the time there were two rival teams, Atalanta and Bergamasca, forced to play each other in Brescia for a single berth in the Lombardy division of the Prima Categoria league in 1919. Atlanta won the play-off but by the following February, the two clubs had merged, adopting black and blue as a symbol of the union.
Thus Italian football had another Nerazzurri to complement the better known ones over in Milan. In 1928, Atalanta moved from Daste to a new stadium north-east of town, first named after a Fascist martyr, Mario Brumana, renamed the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia.
Always one of the strongest teams from outside Italy’s bigger metropolitan hubs, Atalanta have since gone on to play more than 60 seasons in Italy’s top flight, with a cup win in 1963. But this solitary item of silverware doesn’t begin to reflect the true achievements of the club nicknamed the Goddess, La Dea.
A decade after the Coppa Italia victory, a locally born, workaday defender called Antonio Percassi was running out for Atalanta during one of the club’s middling periods mainly spent in Serie B. His name would have been a footnote in the archives but for his decision to end his playing career at 25 and go into business.
In fact, Percassi proved far better at deal-making than he had been at defending, so when club president and sporting director Cesare Bortolotti was killed in a car crash in 1990, the former Atlanta player stepped into the breach. Taking a leaf from Bortolotti’s book, Percassi continued to nurture Atalanta’s academy while putting in place marketing strategies he had learned from launching and promoting brands across Italy.
Not immediately successful as chairman, Percassi returned to what he knew, the world of commerce, and became one of the wealthiest men in Italy. A decade and a half later, in 2010, he came back to take over Atalanta with impeccable credentials: an ex-player who grew up in the area, understood football, had high-level commercial expertise at a global level and he was filthy rich to boot. A more suitable owner to revive La Dea you could not imagine.
But it also needed a great coach in Gian Piero Gasperini, who learned his football as a boy at Juventus during the golden era of the 1970s, working in the Old Lady’s youth set-up once his playing career was over. The surprise package of Serie A in his first season, 2016-17, Gasperini’s Atalanta finished third three seasons in a row and twice made the knock-out rounds of the Champions League.
Atalanta became the neutrals’ favourite across Europe and a great advertisement for an unsung city such as Bergamo. A significant number of visitors stopped a while in town to take in a game, rather than head straight to Milan once their budget flight landed.
With major European names now regular opponents and the probability of more to follow, persuasive Percassi had little trouble in attracting a sponsor when it came to rebuilding the ground in stages from 2019 onwards.
Having bought it from the municipality for €8.6 million in 2017, Atalanta had electronics company Gewiss assume the name of the new stadium, as well as equipping it with contemporary lighting and energy distribution.
For international fixtures, of course, such as the Nations League game Italy played here with Holland in 2020, it must revert to its non-commercial title of Stadio di Bergamo.
In 2022, Percassi sold his majority shareholding to an American group with ties to the Boston Celtics. Still involved in the club’s management while still in his seventies, the wily entrepreneur cashed in at just the right time. Regulars in Europe, successful in Serie A, Atalanta are one of only four Italian clubs to own their stadium, a fact not lost on their Milanese neighbours still sharing a municipal arena.
Getting Around
Arriving in town, local transport and tips
Orio al Serio Airport is a budget hub 3.5km (2.5 miles) south-east of Bergamo, just outside the city limits. It also serves Milan 45km (28 miles) away.
ATB bus 1 (€3 single, valid 90mins, €8.50 valid 24hrs including funicular, every 15-20mins) takes 20mins to reach Bergamo train station before going through the city to Città Alta, the Upper Town. Buy tickets from the machine by stop 1 outside Arrivals or from the tourist office inside the terminal.
From the station, tickets are sold at the newsagent within the front of the building. Airport buses leave from outside the Hertz office, the grey building with the slatted windows, across the busy road from the station.
If you’re flying into Milan Malpensa, a direct bus link with Bergamo is provided by the Orio Shuttle (€20, 1hr 50mins). From Milan Linate, an Airport Bus runs to Milano Centrale (€5, 25mins), then the hourly train to Bergamo (€6) takes 50mins.
The stadium is north-east of town, another bus ride away. The city is divided between Lower and Upper Towns, linked by bus 1 or funicular.
ATB Bergamo runs all city buses (€1.70 a single ticket, €4.90 a 24hr pass within town including funicular). Radio Taxi Bergamo (+39 035 451 9090) charges around €20 from Orio al Serio Airport into town, a little extra direct to the Gewiss Stadium.
Where to Drink
The best pubs and bars for football fans
Most first-time visitors head straight for the Upper Town, taking the short funicular ride to the Città Alta. Drinking spots by the terminus there include cosy Irish pub The Tucans, the Botticelli bar with its atmospheric terrace and the long-established Fly Pub on via Gombito.
Even better is the evening-only Pub dell’Angelo, just tucked down via San Lorenzo, offering rare Estonian brews, football on two TV screens and UK indie classics jangling out shortly after opening time at 6pm. Tasty nuts come gratis with your beer and Sundays see the place welcoming guests from noon, ideal for those classic Serie A afternoons. Decent food, too, and a bar counter begging to be propped up.
Equally atmospheric is the old-school Birreria di Città Alta on via Gombito, with seven tap beers and 40 bottled to choose from, served by friendly staff. Games are shown, certainly if Atalanta are playing – check out the old photos of the club’s stadium half a century ago.
In the Lower Town, the key place is the evening-only Ritual Pub (via San Francesco D’Assissi 1), just off the main road up from the station. A TV screen in the corner shows major games.
Near the Basilica, Pub Sant’ Orsola on the street of the same name shows sport a-plenty. If you’re just popping in for a quick one after arriving or before heading off, the Bar Escondido just up from the station has a handy terrace and TV.
Close to Gasperini’s gaff off largo Cinque Vie, cult bar Pivo is run by the affable Dabel, his heart long given over to Atalanta and punk rock. This, his first venture, was due to open the very day Covid-ravaged Bergamo closed for business.
Eventually unveiled in 2021, Pivo has won over a regular crowd thanks to big-screen sport and rare craft beers at fair prices. You’ll find it at via Gianbattista Moroni 11. Open from late afternoon, closed Mondays.
Where to stay
The best hotels for the stadium and city centre
Visit Bergamo has an extensive hotel database.
There are few hotels in the immediate vicinity of the stadium. Staying near Porta Nuova means you’re walking distance from the station and close to the bus that takes you to the Gewiss Stadium. The closest to this major junction, the 87-room Best Western Cappello D’Oro combines tradition with four-star comfort and business services.
Just behind, the contemporary, urban Arli Hotel houses Bergamo’s finest spa, along with a wine bar, restaurant and room service.
Nearby, closer to the station on main viale Papa Giovanni XXIII, the Mercure Bergamo Centro Palazzo Dolci sits in a lovely villa, 92 bright four-star rooms at a convenient location. Just behind on via Pietro Paleocapa, arguably the best lodging in town is the sleek Hotel NH Bergamo, offering airport transfers, paid parking and a gym.
Facing the station, the Best Western Piemontese has long welcomed rail travellers, accommodated in 50 rooms and a modern restaurant offering lunch deals. A short walk from the train, the San Giorgio stands on the street of the same name, a dated but reliable three-star with 24-hour reception, free parking and a gym.
Elsewhere in the city centre, you’ll find the wonderfully old-school Excelsior San Marco on piazzale Repubblica, whose extras include newspapers, a currency exchange and a laundry service. Champions League football is shown in the lounge and the in-room TVs are linked to a Sky package. Breakfast is a real spread and can be taken in bed. It’s a short walk from the lower funicular station – you can see the walls of the Upper Town from the restaurant.
If you’re staying in the Città Alta itself, Il Sole makes up for its smallish rooms with winning panoramic views and proximity to the historic sights of the Upper Town.
