The Italian Cycling Federation enthusiastically welcomes the idea of transforming the exhibition inaugurated in Alessandria to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of the draisine into the permanent exhibition "Alessandria Città delle Biciclette" and is honoured to grant its official patronage.
A new museum is added to the heritage of the Italian cycling movement, which is unrivalled in the world for the attention and care dedicated to the history, memory and culture of two wheels.
Beyond the 200th anniversary, the initiative coincides with the rediscovery of the bicycle as an ecological and economical means of sustainable mobility and a great resource for the development of sports tourism.
With this Museum, Alessandria becomes the fulcrum of the network of historical museums in Piedmont, which offer visitors and enthusiasts the opportunity to take a journey into the heart of great cycling, from the epic age to the present day, linking directly to Museo dei Campionissimi in Novi and the Casa Coppi in Castellania.
Along this itinerary there are also numerous private collections and the small museum created in the railway station of Rocchetta Cerro Tanaro, named after Guido "Sarachet" Saracco, bicycle builder, musician, inventor and dialectal poet.
The exhibition project of the new museum in Alessandria is developed in thematic areas. An innovative way to read the history of bicycles and cycling, following an organic space-time path.
organic space-time path.
It starts from the area dedicated to the entrepreneur Carlo Michel, one of the first to bring the velocipede to Italy, which gave rise to the first races organized by the Circolo Velocipedistico Alessandrino.
Then we move on to the birth of sports journalism with the section dedicated to Eliso Rivera, co-founder with Eugenio Costamagna of the Gazzetta dello Sport. This is followed by the Maino company, defined as the "Ferrari of the bicycle", the area of Piedmontese champions and champions
champions: Cuniolo, Gerbi, Giradengo and Coppi, the history of the artisan bicycle in Alessandria, bicycles and society, documentation and videos, up to the news entry, open to new contributions and loans of memorabilia.
In short, the thread of a coherent story that visitors, cyclists, amateur cyclists, simple enthusiasts can follow and experience from the inside with all five senses.
The declared ambition is to extend the map beyond the provincial and regional borders, with a view to creating an authentic national network of sector museums.
This network could integrate the Plan of tourist cycleways provided by the new law on cycling with historical, cultural and cognitive routes related to the culture of cycling as a tool for social, civil and economic growth of the country.
The Federation is ready to do its part alongside the institutions and associations of the territory.
Renato Di Rocco
