FIRENZE – Yes Fausto Coppi e Gino Bartali to the pirate Marco Pantaniup to today’s champions, Mark Cavendish and Tadej Poga?ar. There are 11 mega marbles in Piazza Duomo in Florence, in front of Palazzo Strozzi Sacrati – which is the seat of the Tuscany Region – and one, that of Francesco Moser, inside. All are stormed by tourists and not for a photo. The maxi marbles are another tribute to the Tour de France and the departure from Florence, scheduled for today. It is the exhibition ‘Karl Kopinski, the yellow reporter‘, which today saw the ribbon cutting in the presence of the artist, the president of the Region Eugenio Giani and the mayor of Lucca Mario Pardini, the city that had hosted the exhibition (organised by Lucca Crea) on the occasion of the arrival in Lucca of the stage of the Giro d’Italia last May, after 39 years.
Kopinski, an Englishman from Nottingham, did not hide his emotion, recalling his passion not only for cycling, but for Tuscany and Lucca Comics. “Despite my Polish name, in my heart I think I’m a little Italian – he said –. And having this exhibition in Piazza Duomo, in one of the most beautiful cities in the world is incredible.“. Instead “I can’t comment, because it would be biased“, commented the President of Tuscany Giants to those who ask him which is his favorite marble. “But – adds – Karl is an extraordinary artist, he has an expressive ability of what is the suffering, but also the satisfaction of the cyclist who crosses the finish line with his hands raised… And then, with Brunelleschi’s Dome as a backdrop, it is full of people who come to take selfies and Bartali would say that ‘it’s all wrong,’ ‘everything needs to be redone’, but in reality he would be very happy to be there“. On the sidelines of the ribbon cutting, the mayor of Lucca Pardini thanked the Region, “who thought it was a good time” to organize the exhibition “for the departure of the Tour de France from Florence” and Kopinski himself. The marbles will remain on display until July 21st.
