Bartali
 

On the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance day I would like to emphasize the great humanity of Gino Bartali who used his notoriety to save human lives. In Agreement with Italian resistance, Bartali became a courier of travel documents printed in Florence and by cycling thousands of kilometers to deliver photographs and counterfeit documents that would be served to Jews to escape the Nazis. He put his life on the line to save strangers from Fascism.
Great cyclist and great man.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gino_Bartali

:thumb:

If only he were here today, we might be in less of a predicament than we seem to be. :twitchy:

The story should be spread some more. Hell, I'm sure it'd make a great movie.

This excellent documentary covers anti fascist efforts in Italy during WWII. 80% of Jews in Italy survived and anti fascist efforts played a role in saving thousands.

: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3233904


MY ITALIAN SECRET tells a heroic story that was all but lost to history, until now. The film recounts how WWII bicycling idol Gino Bartali, physician Giovanni Borromeo and other Italians worked with Jewish leaders and high-ranking officials of the Catholic Church, risking their lives by defying the Nazis to save thousands of Italy's Jews.

Bartali was a hero
Would have been an equally exciting history and different had he been Coppi’s age.

no·to·ri·e·ty
/ˌnōdəˈrīədē/

noun

1. the state of being famous or well known for some bad quality or deed.
   

Yeah, now that you mention it, I can totally see it.

Not every dictionary agrees with that definition of notoriety, most equate the term with "fame". Being a little pedantic today?

S /pɪˈdænt·ɪk/

caring too much about unimportant rules or details and not enough about understanding or appreciating a subject:

https://live.staticflickr.com/1912/4...76324ad3_h.jpgBasement45 by iabisdb, on Flickr

There's also this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartali:_The_Iron_Man

Bartali had some great quotes:

Good is something you do, not something you talk about. Some medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket.

It's on Amazon Prime. Watching now...

My thanks for reminding us of Bartali's selfless actions Michael, and for hi-lighting todays significance in keeping the horrors and inhumanity that was forced upon the Jewish people by the Nazis out in the open where they cannot be ignored.

Bill

Wonderful, uplifting film.

Bartali.... a personal hero of mine, for his exploits on and off the bicycle. If you're into the written word, here's another good read, about fighting for humanity against those who would oppress it. It has some bicycle stuff in it, some, but the bicycle stuff is really the means to the greater end.

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/sh...bicycle-runner

Is this the same film that iab arranged for a screening of maybe 5 years ago here in Chicago, before his 'Centenario Bartalli' event?

IIRC that film had only just gotten an English translation, and I don't remember Isabella Rosellini or Robert Loggia being credited.

In fact it seemed like a pretty modest Italian TV production at the time; maybe it got a makeover in post-production for the world market.

Nope. Different movie altogether. Giovanni Valetti: Il Campione Dimenticato highlighted Valetti's 1939 Giro win over a in-his-prime Bartali. And forget Isabella Rossellini and Robert Loggia. Their nothing compared to my associate producer credit for the Valetti movie. :p

https://live.staticflickr.com/4893/4...9db64318_h.jpgBasement23 by iabisdb, on Flickr

^Ah, of course, that explains why it didn't sound like the same film--it wasn't! I was conflating the film screening with your Bartali event.

Looking forward to the spring ride!

^^ Yes. 'Road To Valor' is an excellent read.

Yes! Absolutely great book, recommend X 1,000,000!

Indeed an excellent read.

Signs of the times~

Our local library has a pretty rich budget and will order 'new' books in, per request and if not inventory or available from other sharing network libraries. So....

They ordered in, per my request Road to Valor. Brand new as other other sharing libraries didn't have it. Read, return, done.

Part 2: Our rich library also disposes mostly thru a book sale room, $1 hardcover or a full bag of books for a couple of bucks. After browsing the shelves, here was the exact book I checked out. Only 1 year had gone by since this book was purchased by the library. No one other than myself read it.

I purchased it along with a few other books and passed it forward to a fellow forum member.

Our library seems only as a place for people to park and WiFi connect, use the library computers for porn browsers and large groups of kids for after school online gaming.

Italy remembers cycling champion who helped save Jews from the Nazis

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ave-jews-nazis

Good info i have to see this film