SENT TO ORIO AL SERIO (BERGAMO). Some workers, with a crane and a shot of optimism, are already decorating the facade with Christmas lights. The Governor of Lombardy Attilio Fontana is instead thinking of turning off all the lights on the weekend. Oriocenter, the shopping center in front of the Michelangelo Caravaggio airport in Orio al Serio just outside Bergamo, 105 thousand square meters of commercial establishments, 280 shops, 50 catering services for 1500 seats, awaits the order of the Governor, waiting for Tuesday, let’s say with little enthusiasm. Andrea Alessandri, sparks from the bright Sandro Paris clothing store: «For us who were going up after the lockdown, more than two months of closure, closing again on the weekend would be a definitive blow. You can’t always hit the shops ».
Everyone says there are fewer people already now. There is not one without a mask. Every ten meters a column with disinfectant gel. Distances, in this gigantic non-place, are widely respected. Yet here, according to the technicians of the Lombardy Region, the virus lurks and proliferates. As in the places of nightlife and on buses. But the President of the National Council of Shopping Centers Roberto Zoia doesn’t fit in: «Safety comes first in our structures. Some signs of recovery were finally beginning to be seen. A new closure, on weekends which on average represent 20-30% of weekly turnover, would definitively bring to its knees a sector that is worth 28 billion in Lombardy alone and which at national level employs 783,000 people ».
Danila Minacapilli of Aldo Shoes and leather goods says that the regional measure should not strike indiscriminately: «In the Bergamo area, Covid has hit hard, we have never stopped wearing masks. Buses and trains are full like this, what’s the point of hitting only the shops? ». A couple with a stroller wanders among polished marble floors and always-on escalators. They have a mask, even if they want it it is impossible that they do not respect the rules of distancing: «We come often, to look at the news and take care of the offers. Sometimes we also stop for lunch. For a month we have seen fewer and fewer people. Even on Saturdays and Sundays there are no longer the crowds of the past ».
Miss Magia is an accessories shop close to the big brands’ stores. People stay a little. Above all there is a lack of tourists, there is less travel, in Orio al Serio even Ryanair has reduced flights. The saleswoman tells it disconsolately: «If I see a couple of people with trolleys a week that’s a lot. Once it felt like we were also here in the check in area. As an employee it is clear that I would like to stay home over the weekend, but I also look to the future of my work. Do they want to limit the inflows? They close us only on Sundays, at 8 pm and not at 10 pm. But if they close everything when you do more business it is a disaster ».
Laura Miscia and Matteo Brignoli are the employees of the Lacoste store. They work shifts with two other clerks. There were also a couple of temporary workers but their contract was not renewed. Doing the math is easy: «Compared to last year we are 25% less in sales. There are no tourists, let alone those who came here and swiped the credit card for a thousand euros. If they tell us to close it is clear that we do. But on the weekend we make more than 50% of turnover. We are an important brand, but here there were not a few stores that closed after the lockdown, then reopening in the same spaces with other commercial establishments “.
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