Zoagli.

I’m from Zoagli, an Italian town that counts ~2K people.

When I was twenty, I decided to leave. I was slowly getting used to a lifestyle that offered very few opportunities. I wanted a change.

So I came to New York.

Not exactly because I pointed a finger on a map - more like because Caldwell University decided I was a nice addition to its soccer roster.

Flattered, I didn’t think twice.

When I first saw Times Square, I felt like I could never belong there. Not in a million years. I came from a place where people and businesses take 12 PM - 4 PM siesta breaks.

If New York is the “city that never sleeps,” Zoagli is the “town that sleeps too much.”

But jokes aside…

With time I learned to take the good and bad from both and merge them into one. After seven years, I can say that New York and Zoagli are equally defining chapters of who Mattia is today.

P.S. A recent study found that a New Yorker’s walking speed is the average running pace in Zoagli.