Museo del Ciclismo Madonna del Ghisallo

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Museo del Ciclismo Madonna del Ghisallo

The Museo del Ciclismo Madonna del Ghisallo is a cycling museum in Magreglio, Italy .

history

Interior of the Sanctuary of Madonna del Ghisallo

Magreglio (around 600 inhabitants) on Lake Como, 750 meters above sea ​​level, was the destination of many stages of the Lombardy Tour and the Giro d'Italia ; the ascent to the place, the Ghisallo pass, is feared because of its steep gradient (up to 14 percent). On the street is the pilgrimage church, built in 1623, dedicated to the Madonna del Ghisallo . The Madonna has been the patron saint of travelers for many years, until in 1948, on the initiative of the village pastor, Father Ermelindo Vigano, Pope Pius XII. was officially declared the patron saint of cyclists. Since then, numerous successful cyclists have made a pilgrimage to the church and gave it jerseys, bikes, medals and trophies as thanks, including Gianni Motta , Fausto Coppi , Francesco Moser , Ercole Baldini , Gino Bartali , Marco Pantani and Mario Cipollini . In front of the church there are busts of Father, Bartali and Coppi and a memorial that shows the winner and the loser of a cycling race.

At the beginning of 2002, the former cycling star Fiorenzo Magni, as chairman of the museum foundation established in 2000, announced a new building next to the church in order to house and display the numerous memorabilia of cyclists. Magni himself, who died in 2012, is said to have contributed 500,000 euros to the foundation. On May 31, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI. the keystone to complete the construction, the address of which is Via Gino Bartali 4 and which opened in October 2006.

museum

Collection of pink jerseys
Bicycles on display in the museum

The entrance to the museum leads along a ramp that is supposed to symbolize the last ascent of the Ghisallo. The museum is divided into five thematic complexes: Memorabilia ( Cimeli ), The focus is on people ( Il uomo ed il mezzo : inventors, producers, mechanics, etc.), Great encyclopedia of cycling, 24 + 24 (48 famous cyclists) and 100 film sul ciclismo .

The museum also has a library of books and specialist magazines, and it regularly hosts exhibitions and discussion evenings to which well-known cyclists are invited. There is also a bicycle shop in the building.

closure

In October 2013 it was announced that the museum would be closed from November to April 2014 due to a "winter break". Indeed, the museum's very existence is in jeopardy as the Lombard government is unable to continue providing grants. The foundation's money has now been used up and there is talk of “mismanagement”.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ralf Schröder: Lexicon cycling . The workshop, Göttingen 2005, p. 234 .
  2. ↑ Madonna del Ghisallo. A special place of pilgrimage in cycling-crazy Italy. cycling4fans.de, October 21, 2004, accessed on November 27, 2013 .
  3. ↑ a b Ghisallo, chiude il museo della bici. Corriere di Como, October 31, 2013, accessed November 27, 2013 .

Web links

Commons : Museo del Ciclismo Madonna del Ghisallo  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 45 ° 55 ′ 26.2 "  N , 9 ° 16 ′ 5.6"  E