FROM ITALY TO ALABAMA
Scenes from Italia : Gallelli fishing as a child ( top ) and with his son Lapo , in front of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence .
A bass roughly this size , caught on the River Arno in
Italy , inspired Gallelli ’ s dedication to bass fishing .
FROM FIRST FISH TO FANATIC
Instantly , the urge to fish became all-consuming . In the classroom at his elementary school , Gallelli bent his will toward fishing . Guessing that fishermen didn ’ t need to know much about writing , he tried to focus exclusively on math in order to help him count them . In fact , it was only after his mother told him that he would have to learn to write to apply for a fishing license that he began to take the written word seriously .
On the water , the Gallelli brothers began to perfect the art of angling on Lake Chiusi .
“ I learned how to use a pole and a bobber to catch perch and white fish ,” Gallelli recalls . “ Then , we discovered that we could use better baits to catch more bass and pike . We would dip a net in the grass to capture freshwater shrimp and tadpoles that we could use for bigger fish .”
By age 12 , Gallelli was becoming an adept bass angler . He traded Lake Chiusi for the River Arno – the ancient , rippling pulse of Tuscany that careens through his hometown of Florence before winding past a series of flood control works designed by Leonardo Da Vinci and colliding with the Mediterranean Sea some 150 miles from its source . One afternoon on the Arno , the bass fishing bug that bit during childhood sunk its teeth in for life .
“ I ’ ll never forget that bass ,” Gallelli says . “ I had caught many bass before that one , but this was the big one , a 5-pounder .”
The bona fide lunker sealed Gallelli ’ s future as an angler . He spent the ensuing years competing in local tournaments in Italy , where Gallelli says the bass fishing lifestyle paints a striking contrast to any in North America .
“ My family home is in the center of Florence in the historical area ,” he says . “ There , everything is completely the opposite . There is no parking . All the cars are very small . The streets are narrow , and you cannot have a garage to store a boat . Most families do not own houses ; they live in apartments that are six or seven floors . Outside , there are small trees and green spaces filled with lots of monuments , churches and restaurants . It ’ s very busy .”
“ I ’ ll never forget that bass . I had caught many bass before that one , but this was the big one , a 5-pounder .”
PHOTO BY CHARLES WALDORF
In Italy , Gallelli enjoyed the fruits of city life . Dozens of restaurants were just minutes away on foot . Clothing , markets and parks were at his family ’ s doorstep , as they had been for hundreds of years . And that ’ s important to understand . It ’ s important to understand the history of Florence to fully comprehend what the determined angler knew he would be giving up to pursue his dream .
By plucking a 5-pound bass out of the Arno , Gallelli unlocked dreams of even bigger bass . In Europe , catching bigger bass typically means a journey across an ocean to
44 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | DECEMBER-JANUARY 2022