Written by Sam Storm

A tale of stracciatella, death, dining and… balls

If I am to be honest with you, on the cold Thursday morning when I was dragging my luggage towards Florence central station to join the group heading to Bergamo, I was having second thoughts about having signed up for the field trip. As a first-time Pitti visitor, and an introvert to boot, I was physically and mentally exhausted. A couple of days in my own bed sounded very appealing…

Fortunately, I was proven wrong. Bergamo quickly won me over, ably assisted by the delightful company of my fellow travellers, and a very comfortable hotel bed.

The True Spirit of the “Club”

Before I start recounting the tale of our days in Bergamo, I do feel I need to highlight something about the clubs field trips in general. While they are not always focused on purely sartorial topics, I think these events embody the “club” part of the Sartorial Club. They represent an opportunity to get to socialise with people who share your passion for well-made clothes, in a setting and time-frame that allows you to go beyond talking about who makes your jackets (not that I ever get tired of that particular topic).

Pretentious as this may sound, it’s like getting to visit an idealised version of the past, where everyone is well mannered, well dressed, well traveled and well spoken. Most importantly, it’s a chance to socialise with a group of people where no-one will ask “You paid HOW much for a jacket?” in outraged disbelief! I highly suggest you join one if you get a chance.

Chasing Hats & History

Our Saturday in Bergamo was dedicated to art of the flaneur. Meeting up at the lobby, we enjoyed a leisurely stroll to our first destination: the funicular that would take us to the Citta Alta. Well, I should be saying “they”, not “we”. Due to a bit of a misunderstanding on my side, I ended up leaving my room too late and missing the group. Luckily, I spotted a familiar hat in the distance, and after a frantic rush I managed to catch up with everyone in plenty of time for the funicular.

Bergamo was treating us to a lovely day: cool and sunny, the perfect weather for putting together a layered outfit! At the funicular we met up with our guide, Barbara, as well as with a sizeable portion of Bergamos population. Apparently we weren’t the only ones fancying a walk in the old town, and the line was quite long. Barbara took the chance to begin sharing bits and pieces of the city history, priming us for what we were about to see.

Echoes of Empires

The history of Bergamo began around 500 BC; the city has since then been part of the Roman republic, the Lombard League and the republic of Venice. The old city is built on hills, which makes it a naturally strong position to defend, and the venetians built massive walls to fortify the city against their Milanese rivals. Obviously, the gate facing towards Milan is the most ornate one. The funicular actually runs through a tunnel in the massive walls, allowing you to get a feel for just how important a fortress Bergamo was.

The old city truly feels old, with buildings from the middle ages and decorations from the rennaisance. The local authorities seem determined to keep the old city as authentic as possible: cars are only allowed to enter if owned by a resident, and electric signs (including neon signs) are banned! This has in turn created a market for wrought iron signs, and there is an active workshop manufacturing these signs for local businesses!. The city also shows signs of its time as an outpost of Venice: marble fountains can be found, and the fronts of some buildings are also covered in venetian marble. Clever observers will notice, however, that it’s only the front that faces that street that is so decorated: marble is not available around Bergamo, and so the Venetians settled for using it where it would be most visible. Those venetians didn’t become a local power by over-spending!

Club members at Porta San Giacomo, facing Milan

Legends, Loss, & Stracciatella

Like any old Italian city, Bergamo houses beautiful places of worship. It is also home to the tomb of Bartolomeo Colleoni (not, as Barbara would point out, Corleone), captain-general of the republic of Venice! Not content with the fame he earned during his life time, this old soldier is at the heart of several local tales. A particularly noteworthy one is that his family name was, supposedly, once spelled “Coglione”, a vulgar term for “balls”, and indeed his coat of arms features three pairs of testicles. If you visit the site of his tomb, you will notice that the coat of arms on the fence surrounding it looks very worn: local folklore says that rubbing the balls of Colleoni brings good luck!

Barbara, our guide, bringing Citta Alta's history to life

Baroque artistry adorns the ceiling and walls of Bergamo Cathedral

As beautiful as it is, the old city also has a tragic chapter in its recent history. Bergamo was at the center of the Covid outbreak in Italy. The old city, which had an aging population, was hit particularly hard by this. Many homes were left vacant after the pandemic, and many homes have been converted and are now rented out via AirBnB.

To flaneur is hungry work, and luckily Bergamo is home to a particularly delicious treat: it is the birthplace of the stracciatella gelato. Proper stracciatella is made by covering the gelato with a thick layer of chocolate, which is allowed to solidify before being smashed and stirred about (stracciatella supposedly means “to break” or “to smash”, and stracci means “rag”). This results in a gelato with larger chunks of chocolate, and is quite frankly dangerously delicious! Despite the temperature being close to 0C, several of us gave in to temptation.

Enrico Panattoni of La Marianna Cafe, where the world's first stracciatella gelato was born. Image credit: La Repubblica

From Long Lunches to Vintage Finds

Speaking of which, no sartorial club event is complete without a proper meal or three! After having taken in old Bergamo, we sat down for a late lunch of local treats, including cheese and cold cuts. For those of you who haven’t enjoyed a proper Italian lunch, these are lengthy affairs, and you may easily find yourself seated for 2 hours and 3 courses. The venue was packed and seemed quite popular with the locals, which made for a lot of ambient noise, and with good wine and company, it’s impossible not to lose track of time. After a couple of hours (and bottles), the group scattered for the afternoon: a few of us decided to explore the local vintage market. We had passed a store during our guided tour, and returning there we learned that the owner had just gotten back from Pitti himself! Not only that, but he had made a business out of having some garments printed with his own designs, some that seemed suspiciously on-brand for the club!

Clearly inspired by this jacket, we ended up going for another round of drinks and a cigar. Alex, our photographer, was also generous enough with his time to do a couple of unplanned photo shoots with us. It’s funny how even after Pitti, there’s always room for a negroni and energy for a photo shoot! In my particular case, this shoot resulted in a group of locals celebrating a 30th birthday asking if I would pose for a shot with some of them.

The Last Supper in the Cellar

We reconvened for our final dinner for this time: to contrast with the lively lunch, dinner was served in the wine cellar of the restaurant (one can hardly imagine a better place to dine), giving us some privacy and the opportunity to engage in deeper conversations. A side effect of being seated in a cellar, there was no cell phone coverage. After a busy few days, I believe we were all quite spent, but conversation was still lively, and several toasts were made. Topics ranged from the familiar (watches, cigars, tailors of choice) to the philosophical (“What would influencers do with their lives if social media suddenly vanished?”)

Alas, even the best food, wine and company could not truly stop time, and at a certain point it was time to catch our cabs back to the hotel. Sunday, and for most of us, the journey back to reality, was calling.

Next: Taipei, Tequila, & More

Time flies, and as I’m writing this, winter is giving way to spring, which means a new series of events for the club. Taipei promises private dining in March (judging by past club dinners, you may want to let out your trousers in advance), and if you were at the Masquerade ball in January, you have already heard Aarons promise of days of guayaberas, silver jewelry, leather crafts and (possibly) tequila in our first gathering in Mexico City in April. And of course, we’re never more than 6 months away from the next Pitti - I hear the field trip this time will let us cool off from the Florence heat by returning to lake Como. Wherever you decide to join us, don’t forget to join a smaller group for a day or two; it might just end up being your favourite part of the event.

March's TSC private dinner: Taipei's Baroque beauty

Aaron Jimenez of La Buena Hechura will lead us into the world of Mexican craftsmanship and elegance this April

My name is Sam; I’ve been a member since the founding, but due to other priorities I haven’t been able to join any events until recently. I’m currently trying to make up for lost time. I normally live in Stockholm, Sweden, I hardly ever smile for the camera, and (apparently quite unique for the club) I’m not on Instagram :)

(5) Breaking Good in Bergamo