«It will be a trip down memory lane, a return to the past. When Marco Pantani held the name of Italy and Romagna high in the world. With feats that went beyond the very meaning of sport to rightfully enter everyone’s hearts. Like an indelible love.” Mattia Morolli, councilor with responsibility for the care and development of the identity of places, measures his words well, to be able to best represent the feeling that the people of Rimini have for the “Pirate”. Always, from his first victories, until his tragic end. «Marco is an icon not only for cycling enthusiasts, but for all athletes – underlines Morolli -. For this reason he deserves tangible recognition, which everyone can see and admire. So what better place than Rimini?”.
The champion statue
Everything will be done big. The chosen day: June 29th on the occasion of the arrival, on the seafront, of the first stage of the Tour de France. A double ceremony: the inauguration of a statue – 6 meters high and 3 meters wide – dedicated to Pantani with his hands raised to the sky, as a sign of victory, and the opening to the public of the new pink cycle path in Via Coriano and yellow, the colors of the Giro d’Italia and the Tour del France, a combination that the “Pirate” achieved in that unforgettable year that was 1998. And also the dedicated signs: real rest “stations” along Via Coriano in which photos of the highlights of the great champion’s career will be reproduced. The councilor explains: «It was a work of ideas and contacts that the municipal administration has carried out in recent months, together with the Pantani Foundation. And, in fact, some of the shots that will embellish the billboards, made of material resistant to any vandalism, were suggested by Marco’s fans themselves. Which are many in Italy and abroad.”
The artist’s hand
And for a champion of sport, a champion of art could not be missing. «And, in fact, having received the availability of the Romagna artist Aldo Drudi, known for the drawings made on Valentino Rossi’s helmets, we didn’t let it slip away – the councilor points out -. The creation of the statue will be entrusted to him, as will the task of redesigning the cycle path.” An “iconic” track, that of via Coriano, connecting the sea and the hills, just like those tracks that saw the “Pirate” climber outpacing his opponents.
A legend that began 32 years ago, that of the champion from Romagna. It ended, painfully, on a cold evening in mid-February 2004, inside a room of a residence on the Rimini seafront. «Marco will always live in the memories of Italians, of Romagna and of us from Rimini. For this reason the statue will be placed in one of the most iconic places of the Sea Park, where everyone will be able to see it.” And there are those who hypothesize Piazzale Kennedy. «We’ll see – concludes Morolli -, one thing is certain: it will be the most beautiful place».
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