DUIS COMMODO CONSEQUAT VELIT

The Giro is so much more than a bicycle race: it's an excuse for Italians to do what they love to do best: gather with friends and strangers alike and fare festa--party! Traveling the length and breadth of the peninsula, the Giro brings color, music, excitement, and an atmosphere of innocence, gaiety, magic and joy. Everyone is invited to share in the Giro spirit.

GIRO SPIRIT

THE MASCOT Wolfie, the Giro mascot, represents the Giro's partnership with the World Wildlife Federation. The objectives are protecting the wolf, improving the environmental sustainability of the Giro, and disseminating environmental education among the young generation.

THE LOGO The font is the same as that used in the La Gazzetta dello Sport logo. The cyclist's body replicates the spirals of the Giro's Trofeo Senza Fine, and the wheels form the symbol of infinity, recalling the slogan of the Giro, Amore Infinito, "an endless love that has been warming and filling the hearts of cycling enthusiasts, insiders, and riders throughout the world and the generations."

THE MUSIC  If you've ever watched the Giro live on RAI, the Italian tv network, then you know that each year the opening credits feature a different theme song, often written and performed by a well known singer/songwriter. One of my favorites is Enrico Ruggieri's Gimondi e il Cannibale, which must be the finest cycling song ever written--it captures all the drama, pain, courage, and romance of an epic duel between Gimondi and Merckx. There are Paolo Belli's popular and singable tunes: E' un Gran Bel Giro, Danceur Danzando, and Intanto Gira, the late Lucio Dalla's energetic and memorable Sono in Fuga (I'm in a Breakaway), and Paolo Conte's dreamy, poetic Velocità Silenziosa. From the long-ago 80s comes this memorable sigla,

There have been many other cycling-themed songs, including ones about Bartali and Coppi, Marco Pantani, and even a touching and inspiring song about the Giro's only female participant, Alfonsina Strada: Teresa de Sio's Pedala Pedala (Una Ragazza al Giro d'Italia).

THE CHILDREN The Giro is the impetus for numerous collateral activities, including Biciscuola, a program and competition for school children. They create projects (newspapers, images, stories, games, photo exhibits, etc.) on a theme, such as the use of the bicycle and respect for the environment. The winning classes from the areas surrounding the stage towns are awarded on the podium and are given seats on the finish line or other choice locations. Other educational actitivies, such as lessons about road safety, are organized for children along the route as well. About 50,000 children participate each year. The Giro becomes a part of a child's life at an early age.

THE WINNER'S TROPHY The stunning Trofeo Senza Fine (endless trophy) has been awarded to the winner since 2000, but the name of every winner since the first Giro in 1909 is engraved on it. It is created here in the Veneto, in the town of Saletto di Vigordarzere, just north of Padua. (They make the trophies for Strade Bianche, Tirenno-Adriatico, and Milan-San Remo as well). Watch how it's made.

PAINTING THE TOWN PINK

Luca Bettini / AFP via Getty Images

THE GIRO LOTTERY

GIRO POSTAGE STAMPS

CULTURAL EVENTS, RIDES, and FESTIVITIES

Concerts, exhibits, parties, and lighting displays are yet other ways to celebrate the Giro spirit, as are Giro-themed mass-participation rides, including ones that the whole family can enjoy.

Here's a video of the Pedalata Rosa on the Lunga Via della Dolomti rail trail.

The Giro used to organize an official Pedalata Rosa ride, which I participated in twice. Every participant received a pink helmet and jersey to wear, which created a spectacular sight! There was also a Granfondo Giro  d'Italia, which is no longer held.

If you can't come to Italy you can stream the Giro live on on GCN Race Pass, or watch it on Rai International, available on your local cable network. Sign up for a VPN to watch (in Italian) on the Rai tv site.

When the Giro is going to pass through your town, you decorate!...and dress in pink! Townspeople and merchants to try to outdo one another in creating the most original, artistic, and charming displays. It's fun to stroll around and enjoy the fruits of their creativity, passion, and pride.

THE GIRO D'ITALIA YOU TUBE CHANNEL

Click on the logo at left to watch more inspiring videos like the one below.

THE GIRO D'ITALIA MOBILE APP Stage maps, timetables, results, and everything else you need to know about the race, all on your smartphone or tablet. You can download it for free on the Apple or Android app store.

WATCH THE GIRO LIVE!

THE MAGLIA ROSA was introduced in 1931 by Armando Cougnet, sports journalist at La Gazzetta dello Sport, the newspaper that had organised the first Giro d’Italia over two decades before. He came up with the idea of having a symbol that would make the leader of the race stand out, so that he could be easily identified from the rest of the riders.  The honour of being the first rider to wear it fell to Learco Guerra, back in 1931.

The jersey is made by Castelli, which is based in Fonzaso, in the Belluno province of the Veneto.

To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the jersey, the Giro organization, in cooperation with the Madonna di Ghisallo museum, created an interactive virtual exhibition, which narrates "the greatest endeavours of the Maglia Rosa, a tale told in photos, novel footage, news items and front-page stories by La Gazzetta dello Sport."  Click here to visit.

THE WINE You can't have a podium celebration without a bottle of bubbly, and what could be more fitting than Prosecco from the fabled hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene?

PASTA What fan could resist ravioli in a Giro pink package emblazoned with the race logo? Rana, the official pasta sponsor of the Giro d'Italia, offers limited edition recipes from regions visited by the race: a culinary Giro d'Italia. Rana is yet another Veneto company, from Verona province.

Sponsors' products and advertisements bearing the colors and logos of the Giro are a common site at race time.

THE GIRO VILLAGES

Every stage has two villages, one at the start and another at the finish.

more to come...