A quite underrated destination for a football weekend: Bergamo, an attractive Italian city near Milan. Atalanta's rise to the top of Italian football has shined a bit more light on the club. Plus, two famous players have their own restaurants here.
A plane ticket to Bergamo is quite cheap given the nearby Milano-Bergamo airport, home of several low-cost carriers. The city can easily be combined with a trip to Milan. Bergamo is compact and romantic, so you always take your partner too. For football - like anywhere in Italy - you don't have to search long.
Now that's how you renovate a classic football stadium. Walk along the monumental outside of the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia and you'll see how well they've preserved the history, mixed up with a modern main stand with all of the comforts that are demanded these days. Even on the inside, the old inner walls are preserved.
Atalanta is not just in footballing terms a leading club in the Italian Serie A. Where lots of Italian clubs still play in old, rundown concrete jungles, the Atleti Azzurri d’Italia has become a stadium where the club can stay for decades.
It's on the north side of Bergamo, located in the lower part of the city called 'Città Bassa'. A tip from us: Walk there from the higher located old town, the Città Alta, and you'll see the stadium beautifully on the hoirzon, in a decor of hills and the houses of Bergamo.
The old town of Bergamo is truly recommended anyway. There are lots of souvenir shops with shirts and other stuff of Atalanta, the pride of the city. The club has a very local, tight fan base. After the severe covid crisis in Bergamo, the bond between the fans got even tighter. In Bergamo, there are very few fans of neigbouring clubs like AC Milan or Inter, it's Atalanta who's reigning here. You feel that in Città Alta, where you see lots of club flags in the narrow streets, or inside the coffee bars.
Bergamo has a great culinary tradition, and also a real football restaurant: Boedo, under the ownership of former Atalanta player Alejandro 'Papu' Gomez (now playing for Sevilla). The outstanding Argentinian meat restaurant is named after the area of Buenos Aires where Gomez's favourite team San Lorenzo is coming from. On top of that, the restaurant has not just two paintings of Diego Maradona, the legend can also be found on the window of the restaurant. After his transfer to Spain, Papu isn't often around anymore, but his wife Linda is still closely connected to the business.
Former Italian international Claudio Marchisio also has his own restaurant in Bergamo: 'Legami Sushi & More'. Not a typical football restaurant, but a luxurious, top-of-the-bill sushi bar where you can have great maki rolls.
It's hard not to eat good food in Italy anyway, but if you're looking for a good restaurant close to Atalanta's stadium: DeGusto on the Via del Lazzaretto. A simple but great restaurant with very good pasta. Even closer: The Via Sport Café, just behind the north stand. A little bit kitschy, but a perfect spot for a beer and a bite.
If you're interested in obscure Italian stadiums and pitches, you can find good joy in Bergamo. Close to the Atalanta stadium, you'll find the home of SS. Excelsior Bergamo, with a funny stand and some apartments next to the pitch. Even better is the pitch of US Olimpia on the Via Borgo Palazzo. It's close to the centre, sandwiched by houses and a church.
Ordering tickets on the official website of Atalanta isn't that hard, but make sure you order them on time because the occupancy rate of the club is by Italian standards quite high. The big matches against Milan, Inter or local rivals Brescia are usually sold out, in that case, a football travel agency might be able to help you out.
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