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04/19/2024 – “This journey has first of all a thematic value because it is a journey to mend Italy”: this is how Matteo Ricci, mayor of Pesaro, coordinator of the Pd mayors, president of ALI-Italian Local Autonomies, responds in Fano , at the start of “Testa alta e pedalare”, the symbolic bicycle ride along the old Via Flaminia that will take Ricci and a group of friends and supporters to reach Rome in 5 days, with stages of around 70km each.
Today’s stage will take the Ricci team to reach Cantiano, after crossing Furlo. We continue tomorrow from Cantiano towards Gualdo Tadino and Foligno, while on April 21st it will be the turn of Foligno, Spoleto and Narni. Fourth stage from Narni to Civita Castellana, passing through Campitelli-Otricoli. Finally, I arrive in Rome on April 23rd, departing from Civita Castellana and crossing Riano.
“We chose – explains Ricci – the old Via Flaminia which was one of the main streets that historically connected Rome with the East and Europe, starting from the arch of Augustus of Fano, which is one of the most important issues that we have in our country, because we want to somehow mend Italy. At the moment the bill on differentiated autonomy is being discussed in Parliament, a very dangerous bill because it divides a country that is already very divided from the point of view. social and territorial view, and it does not only divide it between North and South but also risks dividing it between the center and the periphery, between the coasts and the internal areas. And we have an extra task in this part of the country, namely the Centre, because we don’t only we are the ‘hinge’ that holds Italy together, but we risk even more in the context of differentiated autonomy. In fact, we risk being crushed again by a historical southern question, which will rightly be defended, and a northern question which resurfaces.”
The other theme that the ride wants to highlight, explains Ricci, “is the theme of sustainability: 2023 ended with chilling news: it was the hottest year in history. The answer cannot be, as I hear every much from the denialist right, slowing down the ecological transition, but rather accelerating the ecological transition, the exact opposite of what they are saying. Therefore – he continues – choosing the bicycle as a symbol is a way of making sustainability increasingly an element of our politics”.
Finally, the third theme that Ricci intends to raise with this initiative is that of peace: “We have done many bicycle rides for peace in the past, this is a further bicycle ride for peace because today we are surrounded by wars, in Ukraine, in the Middle East , we are witnessing a military escalation that risks increasing day by day. Therefore, the culture of peace must also be strongly strengthened.”
“These – underlines Ricci – are the three main themes that we will address throughout the trip”.
Regarding today’s stage, Ricci says “I’m happy that the friends from Fano are there; today we’re going towards Furlo as the first stage and we would have liked to do it along a cycle path, instead the ideological debate on the return of a railway has been going on for years , which everyone knows will never return, has blocked the cycle path project And therefore this is also a way to relaunch a fundamental project for the Metauro valley, which could have already been created exactly like the cycle path between Pesaro and Fano, but which due to a short-sighted and somewhat nostalgic vision of mobility is still at a standstill. It is one of the many failed promises of the Marche region”. “Then we will arrive in Cantiano and there we will take stock of the issues related to the flood with the mayor of Cantiano. There are many delays, many roads still to be opened, many problems still to be solved, a lot of bureaucracy to be simplified”, adds Ricci.
“Stage after stage, we will focus on the various problems of the specific places we are going to visit. I thank all the amateur cyclists (I am the most amateur of all!), who have decided to participate and face this journey with me, also because it is also a great sporting moment, and sport is a fundamental element that holds society together, not only from a health point of view but also from a social point of view. Therefore, I thank all these people who have decided to leave with me”, he concludes Ricci.
Tags: Mayor Matteo Riccis held high pedaling bicycle tour begins
