Italian Boxing Champ Luca Messi Takes Don King On Exclusive Tour

Legendary promoter Don King today visited Bergamo, Italy, where he met the president of the province of Bergamo, met the mayor of Bergamo, and toured the recently discovered remnants of an underground Catholic church dating from the 6th century.

King’s tour was hosted by a boxer he represents, Italian 154-pound champion Luca “Bergamo Bomber” Messi, and is the first stop on a three-day tour of Italy concluding on Wednesday when King will be in Rome for a scheduled visit with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican.

King’s excursion began in the morning with a visit to the old city of Bergamo where he was given a private tour of the Santa Maria Maggiore Catholic Church, which has been closed to the public for three years while extensive renovations are taking place. Monsignor Don Gilberto informed King that just after beginning the restoration project, an underground 6th-century Catholic Church was discovered.

The public has yet to see this previously buried maze containing bishops’ tombs and important religious depictions of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and many others, all of which are of tremendous historical and religious importance.

“Santa Maria Maggiore is a wonder to behold and the discovery of the underground relics only makes her that much more significant,” King said. “Team Messi and I are going to work with local officials to do some fundraising to help complete this noteworthy project.”

In the afternoon, King visited Bergamo Mayor Roberto Bruni, who gave him a flag of the city of Bergamo, and Province of Bergamo President Valerio Bettoni. King signed a boxing glove for the enthusiastic Bettoni, who whisked King into an in-progress meeting of the province’s parliament.

King briefly addressed the Italian legislators and displayed a large Provence of Bergamo flag that Bettoni had given him earlier, which brought many smiles to those in attendance.

King also visited Messi’s new full-service, members-only gym Palestre Victoria, which contains modern exercise equipment and an indoor junior-Olympic swimming pool.

Wherever King went throughout the day, he drew crowds of curious onlookers whom he obliged by signing autographs and posing for pictures.

The tireless 75-year-old concluded his day with a press conference at the Hotel Excelsior San Marco followed by a dinner in his honor. The rooftop restaurant provided majestic views of the city of Bergamo, including its historic old city.