I have no idea why I spent a warm July day walking the streets of Milan.
It goes back to an interview I believe I saw once with someone at the headquarters of the Italian sports daily La Gazzetta Dello Sport (LGDS). Behind the interviewer I could see walls of famous LGDS front pages, photos, what looked like jerseys, plaques etc walls lined with articles relating to Italian football and its storied history.
The funny thing is I still to this day don’t even know if the interview existed, or if I just invented the whole thing to spend the day hunting down the offices of the arguably one of the most famous newspapers in the world, La Gazzetta Dello Sport.
Casa Gazzetta
So, in Milan, and with a spare summer’s day up my sleeve, what else to do but see if I can somehow get into the offices and visit, what was in my mind, an Italian football museum. The thought of trying to find the offices entered my mind drinking my morning espresso and at a coffee bar on the outskirts of Milano pondering how the locals can survive summer so far from the beach?
Municipal Centre be damned! Give me a sand, saltwater, and waves!
The famous newspaper now over 120 years old is believed to have a daily circulation of around 400,000 which isn’t an accurate figure given nearly every bar and café has a copy on hand for their customers. It seems as every second person on public transport has a copy rolled up in their pocket or tucked under their arm. I noticed more so in the North, that each bar has a communal version for all to share, whereas bars south of Rome tended to have the other sports daily, the Rome-based Corriere dello Sport, competition to LGDS.
Considering in Australia we’re lucky to see one story on football in any of our daily newspapers having one dedicated almost-exclusively to football is particularly mind blowing.
My favourite part of LGDS though is almost ironic two pages at the back of the newspaper dedicated to real news, actual news, meaningful events. Not millionaires running around the field trying to kick a football. Does anyone get their current affairs and world news from the last few pages of LGDS? If so please get in touch.
Half Truths On The Phone
On the middle page of that days LGDS I find the editorial details in fine print. Listed are the offices of the LGDS, and parent company RCS, offices in downtown Milan. RCS MediaGroup are of course majority owned by Urbano Cairo. For those still reading, Cairo is of course the President of Torino football Club and has been since September 2005.
My first stop in my quest for Casa Gazzetta was the offices listed ‘pubblicita’ in the editorial listing. I was only a short walk away so I thought I’d take a chance and visit them first and explaining my situation. Perhaps they’d take sympathy for me and let me have free reins of the office?
That’s what was happening in my crazy headspace.
Arriving at the office I was met by a young man in his late-20s and explaining in my best Italian he at first thought it was a joke and that I thought this was the HQ.
“You can visit, I’m sure if they’ll let you in,” he replied.
“I’ll call ahead and let them know you’re coming. Can you give me your name and the organisation you work for in Australia?”
Yeah, about that … I did tell him I was working with a media outlet in Australia; however, made no mention I was formerly in the Statistics department. My helper made the call and let whoever he was speaking to know that I would be arriving soon. Whether or not he was talking to anyone on the other end is a different matter.
But he went to a lot of trouble to help a random Australian by himself looking for the headquarters of a newspaper. When you say it like that it seems a little less crazy right?!
Lost in Milano
I made my way downtown on the sensational Milan Metro on the ‘Linea Verde’ (Green line) hopping off at Crescenzago looking for Via A Rizzoli 8, RCS or rather as I had now christened it ‘Casa Gazzetta’.
Once out of the Metro station, I literally had no idea where I was or what I was looking for, just another occasion that I took delight in not having any mobile data on my phone. Being pushed into an uncomfortable situation and having to work it all out for myself with no help from that search engine and their almighty overlord can only be a good thing, right?
Across one side of the platform was a car park, the other a car yard. I proceeded to walk towards light towers in the distance figuring if there was a football ground nearby, they’d know where to find ‘Casa Gazzetta’.
Turns out I was wrong; the place was empty. The small stadium was the home of amateur league club FC Enotria 1908 and home to ‘Inter summer camp’, due to their affiliation with Inter Milan.
Still on the hunt for Via A Rizzoli — dedicated to film producer and publisher Angelo Rizzoli, who went on to found ‘A. Rizzoli and Co.’ later renamed RCS Editore — I eventually found my way about a 15-minute walk to the RCS head offices and to … cue the trumpets and glorious lighting, I’d found it!
Gazzetta HQ
From afar the RCS head offices stand out amongst the local residential neighbourhood buildings like a Scotsman in Verona wearing long sleeves in summer.
The first two rectangular buildings on street level have a courtyard and here’s where I found countless posters, billboards and monuments to La Gazzetta Dello Sport and the entrance to the famous newspapers headquarters.
By this point I’d spent a few hours travelling around Milan and to be greeted by giant newspaper billboards celebrating iconic front pages — 2006 anyone? — and the sprawling glass quadrangle building that houses the RCS empire I was excited, I won’t lie.
I was telling myself that this may work and that I may get to visit ‘Casa Gazzetta’.
My excitement levels didn’t last long though as I was firmly met with both Italian resistance and stereotypical behaviour featuring raised voices, multiple hand gestures, an argument between two people working for the same company and some dismissive arm-waves before one at least, would eventually walk away for a moment to regain his composure.
The Last Hurdle
Turns out the one security guard that took my call was happy to escort me into the LGDS HQ however his older companion was totally against it.
“Do you have an appointment?” the older gentleman asked me.
‘I’m from Australia and spoke to someone in town at the office in town who said he would call.” I replied.
‘Yes, he called – however you can’t just come in here.” his firm reply – his hand gesture game by this point was incredibly strong, hats off to him.
Still arguing with his work colleague, the friendlier of the two guards eventually gave up and told me he couldn’t let me in despite his wishes to do so.
“I’ve spent nearly all morning trying to get here and I’m so close, please I’m asking just a quick walk-around?” I said pleading my case.
“I can’t, unfortunately, he won’t allow it and will report me otherwise.”
After several more minutes of discussions, pleading and more arguing — just two Italian men talking loudly, nothing out of the normal — the hunt for Casa Gazzetta came to an end.
Precious Moments
Did I get to visit the offices, read the headlines, and take in the surroundings? No.
Did I get to spend the day hunting for the offices of an iconic sports daily known worldwide within football? Yes.
Despite not being allowed into the offices it was still a fun day out in Milan. Whilst it is possible for anyone around world to get a digital subscription to Gazzetta, the culture of reading the hard copy in Italy is what makes La Gazzetta Dello Sport and its rival sports dailies so special.
The sports daily newspapers are a staple of the Italian day and sporting culture and whether it’s rolling or folding those pink pages of La Gazzetta or over time accruing black ink stains on your fingertips reading these glorious newspapers is a moment in Italy.
These moments are precious.
No screen or device will ever come close to sitting, or standing, with your espresso and your croissant, or any breakfast sweet for that matter, reading your sports daily with no rush to be anywhere. It doesn’t happen often that we reach sporting nirvana as fans, supporters, observers, and viewers of Calcio but this moment and the accompanying morning ritual comes close.