Settle forever
Lake Iseo is located between the Po plain and the Pre-Alps, like a bridge between two different worlds: the refined and the untamed, the elevated and the humble, the progressive and the traditional.
Moreover, the human imprint has never been so visible. Climate change is perceptible on both sides, yet nothing stops man in his trajectory.
On June 23, 1946, Italy and Belgium signed a worker exchange agreement. A total of 50,000 Italian workers were expected to help the Belgian coal industry, which was facing a labor shortage. The Bergamo region was a difficult place to live in after World War II, and the desire for a better life led people to seek opportunities elsewhere.
“One day, I will return there to settle forever,” Gelmi often said, his son Giovanni told me. He died in Belgium on October 30, 2014, nine days before his wife Agnese. Their tombs rest in the cemeteries in Sarnico, Bergamo. He was one of those who left long ago and returned every year without fail. The descendants pursue the tradition since.
How did a place that lacked bread 77 years ago become the Italian success story, the symbol of northern luxury and pride?
