Valles, waves of happiness. Bologna on the dinghy. And today Morandi arrives.

from the envoy

VALLES (Bolzano)

In Valles, the sun shines even when it rains and the wind blows. No, that's not just a figure of speech. It's the magical realism that Bologna and its fans have lived in for a good two years now. A parallel world, something that outsiders struggle to understand (and in fact, disbelief is spreading in these parts, where one year twenty-two fans showed up to watch Parma's training camp). So on a day like yesterday, which appears cold and empty, with the team resting and the training center pitch battered by bad weather, you expect long faces and widespread discontent. Enough to make anyone lose their temper. But not the rossoblù fans who wander around this corner of the Pusteria Valley with smiles that never fade. Of course, the training center wasn't as crowded as other days, but many still stopped by to take a look, perhaps hoping to bump into Bernardeschi (the only one working on the pitch and in the gym) or simply to stay close to their emotional center of gravity.

After all, a bad Monday certainly isn't enough to change the balance of a first week of training camp lived on the waves of happiness. It was and continues to be a joyous invasion, the one under Mount Jochtal, with peaks of passion that reached their peak on Sunday, for the friendly against Virtus Verona. There were at least 2,500 spectators to see Orsolini and his teammates, with the spaces around the pitch filled to capacity (and perhaps a little more). An overflowing enthusiasm, fueled by the Italian Cup win and fueled by the arrivals of Immobile and Bernardeschi.

And speaking of arrivals, today we're expecting the arrival of the Rossoblu fan par excellence: Gianni Morandi. On Thursday, he'll headline the acoustic concert in Maranza (just a few kilometers from Valles): a free event for which reservations have swelled to nearly three thousand. The international Gianni will be staying at the same hotel as Bologna, which has prepared a special jersey for its "first" fan. De Silvestri and his teammates will present it to him on stage on Thursday evening.

Speaking of Lollo, yesterday he led a Rossoblu delegation that, on their rest day, chose to go rafting on the streams of Val Gardena. It was a way to break up the stress of training camp and do what the Americans call "team building." Orsolini, Freuler, Erlic, Moro, Fabbian, Ilic, and even the newest arrival, Vitik, were unmissable. The others, perhaps discouraged by the rain, preferred a day of total relaxation, between the hotel spa and the quiet of their own rooms.

Vincenzo Italiano's alarm will ring loudly again today. The first training session is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., followed by the second session at 5:00 p.m. In the evening, the team will once again meet with its supporters in the square in front of the Casa della Cultura in Valles. The evening's menu will include the Tyrolean Festival, with the main course on stage, when at 9:00 p.m. (live on TRC) Italiano will answer questions from the young Rossoblù fans.