Of
Donatella Tiraboschi
The entrepreneur: «I said to mayor Gori: “One year won’t be enough”. All the deadlines have been disregarded for a city that will be the capital of sport in 2027″
Angelo Agnellientrepreneur of the family business of the same name and historic patron of the (former) Agnelli Tipiesse, the main men’s volleyball club in the city which was liquidated in the spring of 2023, remembers that meeting as if it were yesterday. «They told me: “Find a house for a year”».
Who told him?
«There were the former mayor Gori, the former sports councilor Poli and the councilor Valesini with the entire project for the new sports hall on the table. Look, I replied, I’ve never built sports halls, but I know enough about warehouses to tell you that I don’t believe you. At that point Gori announced the timetable: “Look here”. He was very confident. I know you are very good and precise, I objected, but a work like this takes time. I really don’t think one year will be enough for you.”
He was right.
«It was 2022. Since then I have not seen any project, while what we can see are the disastrous delays also in the creation of Gamec. Whoever is governing Bergamo has found himself with an uncomfortable legacy, a series of problems to solve, but suddenly removing the old building was a blow. Today we still can’t see anything. Perhaps the calculations were done wrong or there was too much optimism. In fact, all the deadlines have been disregarded for a city that will be the Capital of Sport in 2027 and where the only structural bulwark of the city is that of Atalanta together with ChorusLife which, in an outburst of generosity, supports women’s volleyball.”
More than three years have already passed since his decision to give up everything.
«I would have passed them in vain waiting for that house that we no longer had. I remember that at that technical table, in the presence of councilors and professionals, crude answers were given to equally crude questions, also because if on the one hand some complained about lack of foresight, on the other the doubts about the timing remained. Yet the then mayor assured that the work would start like a rocket. At that point, with the risk of finding myself hanging, I said: thank you and goodbye. And I took the trouble away.”
A radical choice.
«Which I’m glad I did. I was scared in front of that scenario. Women’s volleyball is a different reality from ours, which can count on more members, while we were, so to speak, alone. In those conditions, with no more arena, it would have been dangerous to jeopardize time and huge company resources without having any certainty.”
She not only said goodbye to the Municipality, but liquidated the company that was active in A2 at the time. A very beautiful reality.
«For me it was a source of pride to be able to continue in the wake of Olimpia, in what was the glorious sporting history of Bergamo. In the last season we lost the playoffs against Vibo who then didn’t register, but by asking for a repechage I could have also tried the A1, albeit with an increase in costs because for a top flight you need around three million euros compared to the one million and 200 thousand of the A2. But the technical work was of the highest level. This is demonstrated by the many of our boys from back then who now play in A2. For example, Yuri Romanò, one of the strongest Italvolley forwards, was one of ours.”
It was he, before arriving in Bergamo, who defined Agnelli Tipiesse as the company that did “many things done well”.
«We were always at the top of the rankings, thanks also to the work of our sporting director, Vito Insalata. I can say that we would certainly have stayed where we were as long as we could afford it, but not without an arena where we could play.”
But had you looked for the famous house?
«Of course, starting from Treviglio, but it would have been like taking a leap in the dark, since basketball was already played there, with Bergamo 1991 Volleyball having moved there from Bergamo. Three teams in one facility would have been too many. We migrated to Cisano which became our home for some time, thanks to exemptions after exemptions, but it was necessary to address the lack of height of the structure. It was necessary to recover 15 centimeters, dismantling and reassembling the parquet in the face of complex building works with excavations and a cost of over 400 thousand euros”.
Other solutions?
«The most intelligent one, suggested by us, would have been in the spaces of the Bergamo Fair. There was talk of the possibility of installing a temporary structure, a tent in one of the squares behind. An idea that not only could count on logistical convenience with thousands of parking spaces available to fans, but also based on the experience of other cities. For example, in Piacenza, right next to the fair, a building (the PalabancaSport, ed.) with a capacity of 4 thousand people has been in operation for twenty years. That way everyone would be given a home.”
Aside from the arena, have you ever thought about his possible (re) return to the pitch?
«Everything I did I did to honor the sporting history of Bergamo. After these years of stopping, it would be like starting from scratch. I have dedicated eighteen years to this sport and life project. Right now I wouldn’t think of spending even a minute on it.”
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December 30, 2025 (changed December 30, 2025 | 07:38)
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