Castellania Coppi, the Viale degli Eroi is born. And in 2023 the Giro d’Italia returns

There will also be an avenue of Heroes in Castellania Coppi, the municipality forever linked to the Campionissimo. A tree-lined avenue that descends from the mausoleum where Fausto and Serse rest, towards the plain, towards Tortona and Novi Ligure, the roads that Coppi used to cycle along when he was an apprentice in the Merlano delicatessen in Novi. And the first tree, which will be planted at the end of June in this project which involves, in addition to the Municipalities, the province of Alessandria and the Piedmont Region, will be named after Gino Bartali: the man, the champion, the friend, who will be for always combined with that of Coppi. This is the first news announced today in Castellania Coppi during the “Welcome Castellania” appointment, scheduled for January 2 and then moved due to the pandemic: present the children of the Campionissimo, Marina and Faustino, the mayor Sergio Vallenzona, Massimo Merlano , indefatigable president of the “Terre di Fausto Coppi” tourist consortium, and many enthusiasts, including Giovanni Ferrari Cuniolo, the nephew of Giovanni “Manina” Cuniolo (great figure in cycling pioneers and first Italian champion in 1906), who is the president of the municipal council of Tortona.

PINK RACE -The second news is that in 2023 the Giro d’Italia will return to these roads to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Coppi’s fifth and last triumph at the Giro (the edition of the company on the Stelvio): it is not yet known whether with a time trial from Gavi to Castellania, the “Wine Stage” of the pink race, or with a stop in line, perhaps on a circuit along the many places that remember Fausto. Coppi won the Giro in 1940, 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1953. Plus two Tours, 1949 and 1952.

PATRON – The first recognition of “Welcome Castellania”, an international award for sports journalism and benefactors of sport, went to Sylvain Adams, the Israeli patron, protagonist of the birth of cycling in Israel and of the Great Start of the Giro da Jerusalem in 2018, as well as owner of the WorldTour Israel-Premier Tech team. Adams was appointed Ambassador of Casa Coppi in the world and was also awarded for his commitment to the development of cycling in Rwanda and for having saved many cyclists and cyclists from Afghanistan: in the absence of Adams, the recognition was withdrawn by Tsadok Yecheskeli, one of the founders of the team. “Welcome Castellania” awards also to Riccardo Guasco, illustrator, painter and graphic designer of international fame, who created the first mural on Coppi along the road that leads to Castellania, and to Luca Gialanella, journalist of the Gazzetta dello Sport.

LEGEND STREETS – A new exhibition hall was then inaugurated at Casa Coppi entitled “The roads that lead to the sky”, with the totems of the great Italian and French mountains where Coppi wrote his legend: the image of the Cuneo-Pinerolo 1949, 4 meters by 2.90. And new tiles have been discovered on the wall of Casa Coppi dedicated to the “Benefactors of Sport”: those dedicated to Tarcisio Persegona, the man who climbed the Gavia pass 550 times, and to Cavaliere Flavio Repetto, president of the Novi group stand out. Elah-Dufour. Finally, the original Lugano 1953 rainbow jersey was donated to Casa Coppi, made in two copies by the De Marchi knitwear factory in Conegliano Veneto, the oldest Italian sports knitwear company. The two shirts had been made at night by Mrs. Elda, the owner’s wife: one was worn by Fausto in Lugano, the other was kept in a company drawer as an heirloom and now brought to Castellania Coppi. Symbol of an endless love for the Champion.