Motor Trend - USA (2020-06)

Mark Rechtin

NEWS I OPINION I GOSSIP I STUFF

A prayer for Bergamo

Reference Mark

I am writing this on March 24, the day before this

magazine goes to print but four weeks before you likely

will read it, so please forgive me if more recent events

have proven this column to be hopelessly outdated. It

is difficult to prognosticate when circumstances and

developments are changing daily.

H

ang a hard right east out of Milan and zip past

the Monza racetrack, and you will encounter the

charming hill town of Bergamo. The Citta Alta

retains its ancient cobblestone streets and Vene-

tian walls from the time of Julius Caesar; the upper

district’s narrow alleys reveal a maze of storefronts and

restaurants, each one more intriguing than the last.

Families have lived in their same houses for generations.

It’s a place better visited on foot than in a car.

The people of Bergamo are warm and generous and

kind, and they will forgive your halting attempts to speak

Italian. Every night the bell tower of the Campanone o

Torre Civica rings 100 bells at 10 p.m. to let

the townspeople know everything is safe and

that it is time for bed. The soccer team plays

in a stadium smaller than those of some Texas

high schools, yet Atalanta are the terrors of

Serie A and the UEFA Champions League.

I have a personal connection to this

wondrous city—one of the first places outside China

besieged by coronavirus.

During the late ’90s, my sister Erica (also a writer)

and her family lived in Bergamo when my brother-in-

law Ben was a senior engineer scientist for HP Italia.

The people of Bergamo welcomed this young American

family with open arms. The waiters at Da Mimmo, their

favorite neighborhood restaurant, were charmed when

my nephew, the youngest and most fluent Italian speaker

of the four, ordered for the family.

When my wife and I visited Bergamo, Erica and Ben’s

daughter dragged us to her favorite gelato place in Citta

Alta upon our arrival in an effort to fend off jet lag. From

my family’s introduction, Bergamo entranced me in such

a way that I have sought it out three further times on my

journeys, to experience that wonder once again.

As we’ve grown to know, viruses don’t care for family,

nationality, or how lovely your town and people are.

Bergamo has become the epicenter for coronavirus in

Europe. With tens of thousands of the Italian popula-

tion suffering during this pandemic, it’s hard to imagine

that vision of Italy—of the best sandwich of your life

purchased at an Agip gas station, of the dashing train

conductor who gives a quiet click of the tongue and tilt

of the head to provide the proper direction out of the

station, of the automobiles and motorcycles that stir the

soul like none other. The possibility of Italy losing that

passionate spirit and artistic sensibility

fills my heart with anguish. Then again,

this is a country that has survived centu-

ries of war, famine, and even plague, and

has rebuilt time after time.

What hits me hardest is wondering how

this pandemic will change the way we as a

global society live our lives, how we work, and make our

travel plans—including how we drive our cars. Is there

a lesson to be learned from these life-altering events? I

wonder if Mother Earth has fired a warning shot across

humanity’s bow.

What we can hope is that we can band together and

survive this urgent challenge with some grace, restraint,

and love. That we can rebuild once again. Pray for

Bergamo. Pray for the world. Q

@markrechtin

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Bergamo,

circa 19 0 8. The

streets may be

paved now, but

the Citta Alta is

10 MOTORTREND.COM JUNE 2020 little changed.