FLYING TO BERGAMO
I certainly endorse Joe Worthington’s views
in the August article on Bergamo and the
great convenience of Il Caravaggio Airport
by the motorway linking Venice with
Monte Carlo. I have approached airlines on
the subject of routes from Bournemouth/
Southampton airports, which cover a
catchment area that I would have thought
was most suitable for business or pleasure
in that part of Italy. What puzzles me is
their diffidence and lack of interest, with
remarks like “not commercial enough”.
I’m sure you must have readers in this
catchment area who would welcome the
convenience of Bergamo Airport and its
proximity to Milan, Verona and Modena. Is
this an issue that your magazine would be
able to lobby the likes of Flybe and Ryanair
et al about?
David Yuille-Baddeley, by email
As far as we know, the only direct fl ights from the
UK to Bergamo are from London, Manchester, Bristol
and Belfast, so there could conceivably be demand
for a route from the south coast. However, with the
connections to Heathrow and Bristol, as well as plenty
of other connections between the UK and Milan’s other
airports, at Linate and Malpensa, we imagine most
airlines would consider you to be relatively well-served.
Perhaps if those routes were always full...THE GOTHIC LINE
I have been a subscriber to
your fabulous magazine for
the last two years. I have
visited Italy 55 times and
have just returned from
the Tuscany and Lombardy
regions. The Gotica Toscana is an outstanding
organization that attempts to preserve the
history of Italy during WWII. I have been a guest
of honour at their parades, which take place
every autumn, and I thought the readers
of Italia! might like to hear the story of how
that came about.
During the fi nal stages of the battle of Italy,
the German forces had established the Gothic
Line, a series of defences stretching from the
Tyrhennian Sea to the Adriatic Sea. The bloody
battle took place at the Giogo Pass near Monte
Altuzzo, which is located just north of Florence,
near a town called Scarperia. It was at this point
that Allied forces broke through the Gothic Line
and forced the German army to retreat back to
Germany. American forces were involved in this
portion of the Line and forces from the Canadian
and Polish armies were involved on the eastern
end of the Gothic Line.
In September of each year, the Gotica
Toscana conducts a re-enactment of this famous
battle. Participants number in the hundreds, and
thousands of people attend. Recently the Gotica
Toscana competed the construction of a beautiful
museum outside Scarperia. The museum contains
numerous WWII artefacts and memorabilia and is
open to the public at weekends. The organization
has reconstructed the battlefi eld with fi eld
artillery, military vehicle, half tracks, jeeps,
rifl es and mortars.
For those interested, more information
can be found at http://www.goticatoscana.it. It is a
fantastic event.
Armand J
Regalbuti,
USA
Thank you for
your fascinating
and informative
letter, Armand.
By coincidence,
we are actually
featuring a
book about the
Gothic Line in
this very issue.
Turn to page 95
for our review.Share your Italian experiences with us, and tell us what you would like
to see in the magazine, by sending your photographs and letters to
[email protected]...LETTERS TO ITA LIA!
The Fiat Bertone X1/9, as featured in this
September’s issue of the magazineNovember 2016 ITALIA! 19YOU TELL US!
We love receiving your letters, photos,
questions and recommendations!
Write to us today...
TEXT Text us your thoughts about Italy and Italia!
magazine. Text the word ITALIA plus your message
to 87474. (Texts cost 25p plus your standard
network rate. For full terms and conditions see page 18.)
WRITE Send post to us at
Italia! magazine, Anthem Publishing, Suite 6,
Piccadilly House, London Road, Bath BA1 6PL
EMAIL Write to us at
[email protected]
FACEBOOK Keep up with Italia! on Facebook. Go
to http://www.facebook.com then search for ‘Italia
magazine’ and click on ‘Like’ to join us.
TWITTER Go to http://www.italytravelandlife.com
and follow the Twitter link to keep up with
tweets from ‘Italiamag’. See you there!CLASSIC FIATS IN THE UK
As a regular subscriber to Italia!
magazine, I would like to say how pleased
I was to read the ‘Past Italia’ article in
the September issue of the magazine,
referencing the lovely Bertone X1/
sports car. I owned a 1978 1500cc model
in metallic silver some years ago, and it
took me and my girlfriend all over the UK
as well as further afield – one particular
time on a fondly-remembered holiday to
northern Italy.
The car was a fabulous tourer and, with
the removable targa top, was ideal for the
warm Italian sunshine. We covered many
miles and the little car never missed a beat.
Being right-hand drive, the car was also
the source of much animated appreciation
to the locals on many occasions.
Rust has inevitably ravaged most Fiats
of the era now and I can’t remember when
I last saw one on the road. Great to see this
underrated Italian classic being given some
limelight at last!
Anthony Cheshire, by email
Are there really no more classic Fiats on the roads
of the UK? Perhaps some other readers have some
photographic evidence to the contrary...LE
TTER
(^) O
F
(^) T
H
NOM E
T
H
NOV
2016
Bergamo from
San Vigilio
Photograph by Joe Worthington
IT144.Letters.sg4.indd 19 29/09/2016 09:19am