Together with the Urban District of Commerce we met Carlo, owner of Carom Abbigliamento, to learn about the history of the business he founded together with his brother.
Carlo comes towards us with a slight smile and squeezes my hand tightly in his.
‘Thanks’ is his first word.
Every Wednesday he goes to the hairdresser for a haircut, his beard is impeccably shaved.
He is not wearing a tie – Maria Grazia and Monica (his daughters) scold him with benevolence and quickly extend a Regimental tie that Carlo knots with a sure gesture. The ritual of one who has taken particular care of his appearance for a life time.
You have to read between the lines, dig through the anecdotes to reveal the greatness of this man. Because Carlo says little about himself, perhaps out of modesty or fatigue. He tells of his life without sensational tones. He says he’s been a lucky man. But those who know him well tell of a bold, visionary man. Captain White Feather went looking for his fortune, he chased it hard, constantly, and when he found it he treasured it as only a man of his rank could have done.
Sharing it.
He loved his wife deeply and in her last seventeen years of life, in illness, he looked after her until the last moment, at home, choosing the most beautiful clothes for her every day. Because life, even when it bites and hurts, must be honoured, always.
He loved life and family, who had worked with him for years. Monica and Maria Grazia have their father’s blue eyes and they are the ones who urge him into telling the story of his past.
‘Now you see him so calm, but in reality, he is a general,’ says Maria Grazia with a beautiful smile.
‘Carom’ is an acronym for Carlo and Romolo, the names of the two brothers who founded the company.
Romolo is slightly younger than his brother, he moves like a dancer, speaks loudly and in no uncertain terms. It would not be surprising if at any moment he swung his stick and hinted at a tiptap step.
He is not a man prone to diplomacy and chatting is a bombastic experience. A splendidly authentic man.
Born in Castelfranco Emilia, where his father had a shoe company, they were soon catapulted to Bergamo.
“There, in the evenings, we danced, then we arrived here…” says Carlo making a face that’s difficult to describe. “But there was work here, there was a lot,” he continues.
Carlo recognises an opportunity and pulls up his sleeves. He worked as a bartender, as an apprentice, until he found ‘his’ job. He did all that needed to be done. He was good and as a boy he becomes a salesman, then head salesman. He was attentive and friendly, and he learned the trade and to know people.
He soon became manager of a clothing store in via Papa Giovanni XXIII, where he worked for ten years.
Until, on August 26, 1961, Carom opened. On the day of Saint Alexander, the city’s patron saint.
Maria Grazia opens her arms wide: ‘It was this big,’ she says laughing. The first shop was really small.
But Carlo, remember, is a bold man and over the years the shop grew in size to new premises.
‘In our sector you have to dare, otherwise you stay where you are,’ he says with a pinch of satisfaction.
“Sometimes there were a few blunders. Bah… what can I say. It happens,” Carlo laughs.
Here is the spirit of a man who never gives up.
It’s strange to find such boldness and determination in his calm, modest ways. As if everything had happened to him by chance.
‘If it were for him, he would have bought the whole of Bergamo,’ thunders Romulus, who in spite of manners is more prudent by nature. ‘Captain White Feather, that’s what I call him!’
‘We never fired anyone from Carom,’ says Carlo proudly. Indeed, he taught the trade to generations of shop assistants who then continued on their way, grateful for what they learned from him.
This is a special family, constantly moving between mirrors and precious fabrics. Monica and Maria Grazia welcome everyone with wide smiles. Romolo has a joke for anyone who meets his gaze, enhanced by his strong voice and wide arm gestures.
And everyone, absolutely everyone, has a smile for Carlo, who at 93 years of age welcomes and cares for those who choose to cross the threshold of his shop, for a dress, advice or even just to have a chat.
Their bond is strong, palpable. And it says a lot says about this humble, courageous and elegant Emilian, who for many years has dressed generations of Bergamasco people, giving them something more than a dress or shirt.