June 29th is a historic date for Florence: the Tour de France will start from the Tuscan capital and the 111th edition proposes a Florence-Rimini, which has the flavor and charm of history for all of Italy. Dario Nardella was the one who, as mayor of Florence, made the dream come true.
It all started with a message. Sent to whom?
“To Christian Prudhomme, the general director of the Tour”.
With written?
“It was an image of deserted Florence, during Covid. I wrote to him something like ‘Florence beautiful and desolate’ and he was very struck by that image. After Covid we met again and he told me ‘Florence has a good chance of hosting the Tour de France’. Then an alliance began with Emilia Romagna, thanks to Davide Cassani and Stefano Bonaccini. I had known Prudhomme for a while, I had been courting him for years, since the Cycling World Championships which were held in 2013 in Florence. “.
They were a success.
“Yes, everything went well. And even now no Florentine has complained about the Tour. The 2013 precedent has reassured the citizens, there will be some discomfort on the afternoon of June 27th, when the teams will be presented, and on the morning of the 29th with the race. But nothing terrible. From the point of view of certain prestige.
“It will be a good test for Florence, it is the most important sporting event organized in this city. For me even superior to the 1990 World Cup. It will be a watershed for the entire city, it will be able to establish Florence as the capital of sport. And then there will be also economic benefits. Between direct and induced benefits we are around 54 million. The organizational and hospitality expenses we have incurred are around 2.5 million”.
What image does he have now? “That of Gino Bartali. If he were still alive I wonder, how would he react? He would be, on the street, watching all these champions”.
Is it better to have tramways or to have brought the Tour de France to Florence?
“They are two different things. But this event remains in the history of the city, it is a great satisfaction.”
But at home, given the emotional ties with France, what do you think?
“You usually look at the European Football Championships, we always argue. This time too, it’s like this. I support Italy, my mother-in-law, for example, supports France. Here, however, we are united. And my relationship with France is strong: last year Macron gave me the Legion of Honour”.
Tell the truth: after all this effort, do you regret not being present as mayor?
“Yes, yes. But I am still president of the institutional committee. And then the important thing is that Florence benefits from it.”
