Len Penzo dot Com

The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.

Grandfather Says: A Personal Portrait of My Time In Bergamo, Italy

By

Original oil painting by: Grandfather’s wife

He remembers Bergamo, Italy. It’s in the mountainous North of Italy, just South of the Swiss border and about midway between Maranello, where the incomparable Ferrari automobiles are manufactured and Milan, home of the La Scalla opera house, where the American soprano Leontyne Price is memorialized.

Two very different paths in life: Grandfather’s from the factories of Detroit Michigan to the Mountains of West Virginia and to Bergamo and back; Miss Price from Laurel, Mississippi to the Juliard School of Music to the great opera houses of America and Europe and back.

Bergamo has to be one of the most “alive” places on earth. Young men and women, two-by-two aboard little buzzing motor scooters, zipping around the traffic circles, down the narrow streets and through the tunnels everywhere, miraculously mingling without mangling themselves, and the coexisting motorcars — everything from tiny little bug-like things to imposing Mercedes. Best food imaginable at little restaurants here and there. And the architecture, music and art!

Bright colored flowers in pots along the streets and and in the gardens of the tile-roofed houses hugging the mountainsides, vineyards climbing where the houses weren’t.

Grandfather was in Bergamo to hear his granddaughter sing the soprano role in Pergolisi’s oratorio “Stabat Mater.”

The performance

Soprano soloist, Grandfather’s granddaughter

At the maestro’s house; a view from the deck.

Another view from the deck.

 

***

About the Author: RD Blakeslee is an octogenarian in West Virginia who built his net worth by only investing in that which can be enjoyed during acquisition and throughout life, as opposed to papers in a drawer, like stocks and bonds. You can read more about him here.

Photos: Courtesy of the Blakeslee Family

Comments

  1. 1

    Paul says

    Thanks for the travel log. There was a decent boxer named Luca Messi from Bergamo who was nicknamed the Bergamo Bomber. Now I have a better feel for what Bergamo is really like.

    • 2

      RD Blakeslee says

      Hi Paul. Your comment is typical of those of of other readers here as well. You-all usually have had some contact or experience similar to that described by Grandfather. Thanks for writing!

      Bergamo was my only time in Europe. Other time overseas was in Japan and the Philippines, while I was in the Army.

      (Ed. Note: You can click the link in RD’s name on this comment for more info.)

  2. 3

    Patricia says

    Bergamo, yes! I stayed in a very cute B&B a little bit outside the center of town and it really made my stay there very special. Bergamo is beautiful. It’s great for people who enjoy walks and hikes. Of course, there is great food too. It’s Italy after all! The downside is there ain’t much going on there, so if you ‘re looking for a lot of nightlife, stick to the bigger cities.

  3. 4

    RD Blakeslee says

    We (my granddaughter, daughter and I) were preoccupied with preparations for the granddaughter’s performance (very interesting in it’s own right – costuming , etc.), but the maestro and other performers knew the most lively places to eat and we also attended other concerts and prowled around in little old OLD churches and galeries. We had a great time!

  5. 6

    Rachel says

    My experience has been that Bergamo rolls up the sidewalks by 9 pm, but it’s a very beautiful place to explore and just take in the great Italian atmosphere. It’s also only 20 minutes by train from Milan which is a city with lots of stuff to keep you occupied. Another nice thing about Bergamo is that beautiful Lake Como is nearby!

    • 7

      RD Blakeslee says

      My experience echos yours, Rachel.

      Lake Como can be seen in the distance, in the second photo from the Maestro’s deck.