Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio was founded on 17 October 1907 by students in Bergamo, Lombardy, in northern Italy. Named after a female athlete from Greek mythology, the club took on its now-iconic black and blue colours — earning the nickname nerazzurri — following a merger with local rivals Bergamasca in 1920. Based outside any regional capital, Atalanta has always carried the identity of a proud provincial club punching above its weight.
The club's first major honour came in 1963 with a Coppa Italia victory over Torino, sealed by a hat-trick from Angelo Domenghini. For decades afterwards, Atalanta oscillated between Serie A and Serie B, building a reputation as a stubborn, competitive outfit — the so-called provinciale terribile — capable of troubling Italy's biggest clubs. A notable early European highlight came in the 1987–88 Cup Winners' Cup, when Atalanta reached the semi-finals while competing in Serie B, a feat that remains among the best-ever achievements by a non-top-flight club in a major UEFA competition.
The club's modern golden era began with the appointment of coach Gian Piero Gasperini in 2016. Under his stewardship, Atalanta developed a thrilling, high-intensity attacking style, qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in the club's history, and reached the quarter-finals in 2020. The crowning moment arrived in 2024, when Atalanta defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3–0 in the UEFA Europa League final — their first European trophy and first major honour in 61 years. Today the club competes in Serie A and continues to be celebrated for the quality of its youth academy, which has supplied talent to clubs and national teams across Europe.