IL GIRO. Una storia d’Italia

The exhibition not only takes a look at the great protagonists of the Giro d'Italia - from Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali, through Gimondi, Moser and Saronni to Marco Pantani and Vincenzo Nibali - but also, through the shots, retraces the evolution of this splendid sport, rediscovering a passion made up of chases and falls, sprint victories and gruelling climbs fixed in the collective memory of several generations. An entire country united around its heroes, chased with their eyes from the roadsides, followed through the little radios or televisions that lit up the kitchens of homes. Snapshots of a bygone era, but as current as ever, in which Rome often appears as a marvellous setting.

THE EXHIBITION AND THE ROUTE
The exhibition starts with the first edition of the Giro in 1909 and ends with an empty panel waiting for the photo of the winner of the 2023 edition, which will be taken on 28 May in Rome during the very last stage.
It starts from the historical shots taken of the champions of the very first editions up to the present day: a temporal excursus that goes from the grainy triumphs of the first years of the last century, to the natural poses of the great protagonists of post-war cycling, from Fausto Coppi "face to face" with Pius XII, to the President of the Republic Giovanni Gronchi giving the start of the Giro d'Italia.
Also on display is the bicycle used in 1945 by Fausto Coppi, who with the Lazio cycling jersey and thanks to the initiative of Roman entrepreneur Edmondo Nulli was able to return to racing at the end of World War II. The exhibition will be completed with the projection of films made with material from the Teche Rai concerning moments and protagonists of historic editions of the Giro d'Italia.
Also planned, with the collaboration of Roma Capitale, is a photographic exhibition off in a smaller form than that of the Museo di Roma in Trastevere but no less impressive, set up in Piazza Anco Marzio in Ostia on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 May 2023. A video with all the photos on display will be projected on the giant screen positioned on the stage where a number of themed musical and theatrical performances will be organised on the two evenings.

THE AUTHORS
Carlo Riccardi (1926-2022), a witness to the birth of the CISL in 1950, was not only its official photographer and custodian of its photographic history, but was also its protagonist as general secretary of the FIS CISL Artists' Union in the 1980s. Riccardi is also the first paparazzo of the Dolce Vita, who started photographing on the Via Veneto as early as the 1940s. In his long career, he has documented six papal elections and collected seventy years of Italian history with over three million images in a large archive.
Maurizio Riccardi (1960), photographer, is director of the Agr Photographic Documentation Agency. He directs the Riccardi Archive and works in the whole sphere of multimedia communication. He has published numerous books. In 2011, he set up the Spazio5 gallery, a cultural reference point in Rome.
Giovanni Currado (1980), journalist and photographer, author of several reportages in Asia and Africa. He is the editorial director of the Riccardi Photographic Archive and was the editorial director of the I fotografici series of the Armando publishing house. Since 2009, he has held dozens of photo exhibitions and signed numerous books and photo catalogues with Maurizio Riccardi.

The exhibition is promoted by Roma Capitale, with the contribution of the Assessorato ai Grandi Eventi, Sport, Turismo e Moda in collaboration with the Assessorato alla Cultura and the Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, and is organised by AGR srl in collaboration with Archivio Storico Riccardi, Enel and Maglia Rosa. Curated by Maurizio Riccardi and Giovanni Currado. Project coordination by Stefano Di Traglia. Organisational support by Zètema Progetto Cultura.
The exhibition is part of the communication and territorial dissemination initiatives relating to the PNRR intervention - Mission 1: Digitisation, Innovation, Competitiveness, Culture and Tourism - C3 Tourism and Culture - 4.3 CAPUT MUNDI - funding line: #Amanotesa - sheet no. 332 CUP J89I22001630006