33 “The cold blocked” Jacques Goddet, “Bartali avait rendez-vous avec L’Izoard,” L’Équipe, July 16, 1948: 1.
34 “The good Lord took a pair of wings” “Gino le veut, Gino le veut,” L’Équipe, July 19, 1948: 6.
35 I feel like a giant Bartali, La mia storia, 84.
36 “Bartali! You’re immortal!” Chevalier as quoted in Leo Turrini, Bartali: L’uomo che salvo l’Italia pedalando (Milan: Arnaldo Mondadori Editore, 2004), 93.
37 Radio signal in Italy BBC Rome 19.00, 16.7.48. While the BBC reported that radio came back on at 1:00 p.m. on July 15, other Italian sources like the Italian newspaper Il Tirreno reported that “telephones, telegraphs, and radios worked continuously” through the shooting and afterward (Il Tirreno, July 16, 1948: 1). The different experiences may be attributable to reports being prepared in different parts of the country. In any event, we have used the more conservative reporting of the two.
38 “Attenzione! Great news” Crispino, “Sia lodato Bartali,” Giornale dell’Emilia, July 24, 1948. Giulio Andreotti also describes this episode, and identifies the deputy as Matteo Tonengo. However, writing thirty-five years after the event, he erroneously gives the day of Bartali’s victory as July 14 rather than July 15. Giulio Andreotti, De Gasperi, visto da vicino (Milan: RCS Rizzoli Libri, 1986), 143–44. In a later filmed interview, he appears to have corrected his timing. “L’Attentato a Togliatti,” in Rai Storia (documentary), directed by Gabriele Immirzi, Giulio Spadetta, and Francesco Roganato.
39 Togliatti’s health Togliatti’s doctors would update the press with regular bulletins about his health. Although he had a pneumonia scare for a brief period, he soon made a full recovery.
40 Celebrations Crispino, “Sia Lodato Bartali.” Various interviewees shared happy memories of the celebrations that followed Gino’s victory throughout Italy (Ivo Faltoni, July 18, 2009; Mario Bellini, August 19, 2009).
41 Rietti’s recollections Author interview with Giorgina Rietti, August 5, 2009.
42 “No event in the world” Jean D’Hospital, “En Italie Bartali e Coppi font figure de heros nationaux,” Le Monde, July 29, 1948: 5. D’Hospital’s observations are reiterated in the writings of the correspondents for the Giornale dell’Emilia and Il Tempo, the latter who memorably wrote that Bartali’s victory “was even able to ridicule the greatest revolutionary framework that was about to strike Italy.” (Natale Bertocco, “Bartali vincitore del Tour acclamato trionfalmente a Parigi,” Il Tempo, July 26, 1948: 1; Crispino, “Sia Lodato Bartali”). This theme was echoed in many of our interviews with Italians who witnessed this moment, and it has appeared in other interviews as well. Allessandro Portelli, who interviewed a factory worker from Terni named Valtèro Peppoloni, quotes his characterization of the moment: “ ‘Bartali’s victory had a lot of influence,’ says Peppoloni. ‘I was a fan and all the fans, when the radio brought the news, felt some kind of a let-down. As I listened to the radio the anger for Togliatti’s wounding simmered down.’ ” Allessandro Portelli, The Death of Luigi Trastulli, and Other Stories: Form and Meaning in Oral History (Albany: SUNY Press, 1991), 155.
43 “I lived for art, I lived for love” Maso, Wir Alle Waren Götter, 187.
44 “I’m hungry” “ ‘J’ai Faim,’ s’écrie Bartali a l’arrivée,” Ce Soir, July 16, 1948. 226 furrows where tears had fallen Dutilh, “Cueilli pour vous dans la presse épique et lyrique du Tour de France,” L’Équipe, July 17, 1948: 4.
45 Togliatti’s hospital room “Le giornate di Togliatti al Policlinico,” Il Tirreno, July 18, 1948: 1.
46 Togliatti’s last memory “ ‘Non vidi nulla,’ ha dichiarato Togliatti,” La Nazione, July 23, 1948: 1.
47 “What happened at the Tour? How did Bartali do?” Palmiro Togliatti as quoted by his secretary Massimo Caprara in Orio and Guido Vergani, Caro Coppi (Milano: Mondadori, 1995), 72. According to Caprara, Togliatti first urged: “Calm. Steady nerves,” likely because he must have sensed that his shooting would have caused some unrest, even if he did not yet know the full scope of what had happened. He then asked these questions about the Tour and Bartali’s progress. The Verganis offer a telling observation about the significance of these questions as they explain that if even Togliatti, who was recovering from an operation and who had a reputation as a cool-headed intellectual with a firm control of his emotions, “was anxious about the Tour, an anxiety ready to become enthusiasm, one can understand the ‘Bartali effect’ on the crowds, on the population of fans.” Both Verganis wrote for the Corriere della Sera, Italy’s newspaper of record.
CHAPTER 14. THE ROAD HOME
1 “Bartali doesn’t have my yellow jersey yet!” Albert de Wetter, “Il n’y a pas de justice” s’écrie Bobet qui ajoute: Bartali ne tient pas encore mon maillot jaune!” L’Équipe, July 16, 1948: 1.
2 “It was horribly cold” Gino Bartali, Tutto sbagliato, tutto da rifare (Milano: Mondadori, 1979), 146.
3 Gino got a few sips of a coffee … cognac Ibid.
4 “you lazy bum?” “Sur les bords du lac … Bobet lit son courrier et Robic pleure,” L’Intransigeant, July 18, 1948: 4.
5 “Like all elderly people” Orio Vergani, “Piange Bobet come un bambino nel passare a Bartali la maglia gialla,” Corriere della Sera, July 17, 1948.
6 “A world of difference … that had set his heart ablaze” Jacques Goddet, “Le Maître,” L’Équipe, July 17, 1948: 4.
7 I feel like a lion Bartali, Tutto sbagliato, 147.
8 Bobet’s dream of winning the Tour was over Louison Bobet, “Mon Tour Heroique,” L’Équipe, August 5, 1948: 2.
9 a surprise visitor, a Christian Democrat deputy Benjo Maso, Wir Alle Waren Götter: Die berühmte Tour de France von 1948 (Bielefeld: Covadonga Verlag, 2006), 222.
10 “defeated everyone and everything” Vergani, “Piange Bobet come un bambino nel passare a Bartali la maglia gialla.”
11 “His Holiness wishes that you win” “Gino le veut, Gino le veut,” L’Équipe, July 19, 1948: 6.
12 “My God, you nearly killed me” and dialogue between Binda and Gino Paul Guitard, “Leçon des Hommes et L’Ecole des Femmes,” L’Équipe, July 18, 1948: 4.
13 “Your father is a champion again” Ibid.
14 “feeling of resurrection” Author interview with Oscar Scalfaro, October 7, 2009.
15 union meeting ended abruptly Maso, Wir Alle Waren Götter, 222.
16 young priest put a radio on the altar “Au Courrier du Monde: ‘Don Lino et Bartali’—Par Enrico Foresti par courrier electronique,” Le Monde, May 15, 2000.
17 “southern temperament” Maso, Wir Alle Waren Götter, 275.
18 “Their unbridled praise” Felix Levitain, “Cueilli pour vous dans la presse épique et lyrique du Tour de France,” L’Intransigeant, July 18, 1948: 4.
19 “Bartali wrote in these last two days” Vergani, “Piange Bobet come un bambino nel passare a Bartali la maglia gialla.”
20 “From snowstorm, water, ice” Jacques Goddet, “Le Maître.”
21 “Calm and enthusiastic” “Bartali ha telefonato ieri sera ai genitori,” La Nazione, July 18, 1948: 3.
22 fourteen people were killed Domenico Tarantini, La maniera forte. Elogio della polizia. Storia del potere politico in Italia, 1860–1975 (Verona: Bertani, 1975), 302–33, as cited by Mark Mazower, The Policing of Politics in the 20th Century: Historical Perspectives (Oxford, UK: Berghahn Books, 1997), 89.
23 two hundred were seriously injured “Italy: Blood on the Cobblestones,” Time, July 26, 1948. This article says some twenty policemen and rioters were killed.
24 Italy’s GDP in 1948 Michael D. Bordo and Forest Capie, Monetary Regimes in Transition (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 331.
25 Togliatti’s penicillin Arnaldo Cortesi, “Italy Checks Most of Violence: Togliatti Takes Turn for Worse,” New York Times, July 17, 1948: 1.
26 Togliatti’s son reads him the sports section “Togliatti giubilante per la vittorie di Bartali,” Il Tirreno, July 20
, 1948: 1.
27 “great national pride” Author interview with Pallante, October 10, 2010.
28 Fifteen million people in France André Chassaignon, “Considerations Commerciales Sur le Tour de France,” Le Monde, July 23, 1948: 6.
29 Los Angeles Olympics attendance Craig Glenday, Guinness World Records 2008 (New York: Random House, 2008), 261.
30 Gino would win a little over a million francs All figures on earnings and appearance fees for Gino and the other racers come from the article in L’Équipe, one of the newspapers that organized the Tour (“Les Contrats sur piste de Bartali multiplieront par trois le million que lui rapporte le Tour de France,” L’Équipe, July 30, 1948: 2). We consulted the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies’ online Euro conversion table and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service’s yearly average currency exchange rate table to calculate the present-day USD values for all the racers’ earnings.
31 Gino boxes a police officer “Gino boxe un gendarme et donne le maillot jaune à son soigneur,” L’Intransigeant, July 26, 1948: 4.
32 Final day of the Tour opened with a light drizzle Luigi Chierici, “Oggi cala il siporio sul Giro di Francia,” La Nazione, July 25, 1948: 3.
33 anonymous death threat Maso, Wir Alle Waren Götter, 282.
34 “Gino Bartali, after having beaten his adversaries” Gianni Granzotto, “Bartali vinse Marie,” L’Europeo, August 2–8, 1948: 3.
35 Tour is televised “Roubaix-Paris: Apothéose,” Miroir du Monde: Le Tour de France 1948 Numéro Spécial, 31; “Le Tour de France à l’écran,” L’Équipe, July 31, 1948: 2; Christopher Thompson, The Tour de France: A Cultural History (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2006), 45–46.
36 “Bartali stood out in his yellow jersey” Félix Lévitain, “Gino Bartali était imbattable dans le Tour 48. Mais l’épreuve par le Parisien et L’Équipe a revelé des talents nouveaux pour la formation tricolore,” Le Parisien Liberé, July 27, 1948.
37 Bartali’s Tour record for longest span between victories The list of all Tour winners can be viewed on the official Tour de France website, www.letour.fr.
38 “The war ruined us old men” Granzotto, “Bartali vinse Marie,” 3.
39 “Everyone in their life” Gino Bartali, “La mia lotta contro la morte,” Tempo, January 21, 1954: 14–16.
40 “I have won the most beautiful race” Jean Leulliot, “J’ai remporté la plus belle course du monde,’ déclare le vainqueur du Tour,” L’Intransigeant, July 27, 1948: 4.
EPILOGUE
We first spoke with Giorgio Goldenberg in November 2010, after hearing about his family’s incredible story from an Italian Jewish friend of his late sister, Tea. We subsequently interviewed him four times (December 20, 2010; January 25, 2011; April 4, 2011; and November 14, 2011).
1 Italian Jewish journalist found him as well Adam Smulevich, “Sono vivo perché Bartali ci nascose in cantina,” Pagine Ebraiche, January 2011: 39; Adam Smulevich, “Bartali nascose ebrei in cantina,” La Gazzetta dello Sport, December 28, 2010.
2 RAI filmed segment Giorgio Goldenberg television segment about Bartali story, “La Vita in Diretta,” Rai Uno, January 27, 2011.
3 “There is no doubt” Author interview with Giorgio Goldenberg.
4 “In my opinion, he was a hero” Ibid.
5 Word about Gino’s involvement Various Italian Jews we interviewed confirmed that this information spread through the Jewish community in Florence in the months and years following the war, including Renzo Ventura (author interview July 27, 2009); Giorgina Rietti (author interviews August 5, 2009; November 6, 2009; and September 10, 2010); Cesare Sacerdoti (e-mail response to author, November 17, 2010). Enrico Maionica, who helped Niccacci prepare the false identity documents, describes in his testimony that he discovered Bartali’s involvement in the network and transport of false documents in the frame of his bicycle after the war as well (USC Shoah Foundation interview with Enrico Maionica by Susanna Segrè, April 30, 1998).
6 opted to willfully ignore the difficulties of the recent past Philip Morgan, The Fall of Mussolini: Italy, the Italians and the Second World War (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2008), 5.
7 Gino reacted to the coverage with anger Andrea Bartali, foreword to Paolo Alberati, Gino Bartali: Mille diavoli in corpo (Firenze: Giunti, 2006), 4.
8 “I don’t want to appear to be a hero” Archival filmed interview with Gino Bartali in Coppi e Bartali: gli eterni rivali (documentary), Instituto Luce, 2004.
9 Ciampi posthumously awards Gino a gold medal “25 Aprile: Ciampi a vedova Bartali, e’stato grande uomo,” ANSA, April 25, 2006; Cecilia Dalla Negra, “Adozioni e passaporti falsi in questo modo agiva la rete—Il pisano trovava i fondi, il campione nascondeva documenti nella bicicletta—Bartali—Nissim—la storia—i protagonisti,” La Repubblica, April 25, 2006; “Da Ciampi medaglia a Gino Bartali,” Corriere della Sera, April 25, 2006.
10 two surviving members of this network in Lucca Author interviews with Don Arturo Paoli and Don Renzo Tambellini, February 2007.
11 Father Pier Damiano at the San Damiano monastery Author interviews with Padre Pier Damiano, July 29, 2009; December 2, 2009; and December 4, 2010.
12 “If you’re good at a sport” Andrea Bartali, foreword to Alberati, Mille diavoli, 4.
13 “an explosion of joy” Author interview with Oscar Scalfaro, October 7, 2009.
14 “Milan, Turin, and Genoa appeared on the brink of insurrection” Patrick McCarthy, The Crisis of the Italian State: From the Origins of the Cold War to the Fall of Berlusconi (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997), 39.
15 “insurrection was feasible” Paul Ginsborg, A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics, 1943–1988 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 119.
16 “savior of the Fatherland” Benjo Maso, Wir Alle Waren Götter: Die berühmte Tour de France von 1948 (Bielefeld: Covadonga Verlag, 2006), 290, 292, 296.
17 “To say that civil war was averted” Alessandra Stanley, “Gino Bartali, 85, A Hero in Italy for his cycling championships,” New York Times, May 6, 2000.
18 two Italian historians The historians are Silvio Pons and Daniele Marchesini. Silvio Pons filmed interview in “L’Attentato a Togliatti” Rai Storia (documentary), directed by Gabriele Immirzi, Giulio Spadetta, and Francesco Roganato. In his book Coppi e Bartali, Marchesini concludes that Bartali’s triumph “was a factor in the lessening of tensions at that time.” Daniele Marchesini, Coppi e Bartali (Bologna: il Mulino, 1998), 92.
19 “I don’t know if I saved the country” Marc Dewinter, “Gino the Pious,” Cycle Sport, July 1999: 31.
20 Valkenburg disappointment Maso, Wir Alle Waren Götter, 292–96; Gino Bartali with Mario Pancera, La mia storia (Milano: Stampa Sportiva, 1958), 90–92.
21 “that one” William Fotheringham, Fallen Angel: The Passion of Fausto Coppi (London: Yellow Jersey Press, 2009), 104.
22 De Gasperi’s insistence that Gino and Coppi race together Ibid., 116.
23 Togliatti agrees Ibid.
24 Binda engineered an alliance Ibid.
25 Enduring loyalties to Coppi and Bartali Our interviews with dozens of contemporary Italians revealed that the loyalties for Coppi and Bartali still run deep. Also see Juliet Macur, “Long-Ago Rivalry Still Stirs Passion at the Giro d’Italia,” New York Times, May 18, 2009.
26 2009 cycling pilgrimage Aili McConnon attended the pilgrimage that traveled from Terontola to Assisi on September 13, 2009.
27 Il Vecchiaccio and Methuselah Gino Bartali, “La mia vita,” Tempo, November 29, 1952: 13–15.
28 “and a beard so long it reached his navel” Ibid.
29 “We athletes are not like beautiful women” Ibid.
30 Account of car accident Gino Bartali, “La mia lotta contro la morte,” Tempo, January 21, 1954: 14–16; Gino Bartali, Tutto sbagliato, tutto da rifare (Milano: Mondadori, 1979), 218; Alberati, Mille diavoli, 154–56.
31 “car was turning over and over” Bartali, “La m
ia lotta contro la morte,” 14–16.
32 “Don’t touch me” and dialogue with Adriana Ibid.
33 Photograph of De Gasperi visiting Bartali Epoca, October 25, 1953: 81.
34 Gino retires Gino Bartali, “Non correrò più,” Tempo, February 17, 1955: 41.
35 Bartali bike company Bartali, La mia storia, 92; Bartali, Tutto sbagliato, 159.
36 “It’s one thing to ride” Ibid.
37 “If I had remained” Ibid.
38 Bartali razor blades Paolo Costa, Gino Bartali: la vita, le imprese, le polemiche (Portogruaro: Ediciclo Editore, 2001), 114; author interview with Andrea Bartali.
39 “eternal youth” It was called “Chianti Bartali” and was made by Fattoria Casebasse of Siena.
40 small department store Author interview with Andrea Bartali; Alberati, Mille diavoli, 168–70.
41 “It was the era of paying” Alberati, Mille diavoli, 168–70.
42 twenty million francs in contracts Benjo Maso, The Sweat of the Gods: Myths and Legends of Bicycle Racing (Norwich, England: Mousehold Press, 2005), 79.
43 $517,000 French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies’ table for converting historic francs into 2010 Euros, and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service 2010 yearly average U.S. Dollar/Euro exchange rate table.
44 Bicycle sales decline Maso, The Sweat of the Gods, 81.
45 “in order to tell us” Maso, Wir Alle Waren Götter, 295.
46 “A Mistake a Day” Alberati, Mille diavoli, 168–70.
47 “At my age, I think I know” Ibid., 170.
48 Adriana Bartali’s recollections Author interviews with Adriana Bartali, July 17, 2009; August 3, 2009.
49 Conversation with Maria Callas Bartali La leggenda, 285.
50 Andrea Bartali’s experience and details about Torello and Giulia Author interviews with Andrea Bartali, July 17, 2009; August 3, 2009; and September 14, 2009.
51 “For a quarter of a century” Bartali, “Non correrò più,” 41.
52 370,000 miles of cycling Gino estimated that he had cycled a total of 600,000 kilometers during his life (Bartali, La leggenda, 1). In official races alone, Gino cycled nearly 94,000 miles (150, 739 kilometers) according to Tim Hilton, “Gino Bartali—Obituary,” Guardian, May 9, 2000.
Road to Valour Page 34
