The morning fog envelops the shadow of Vigorelli in the typical late autumn atmosphere. Everything is silent around, but far away, at the edge of the wet and slippery track, four figures can be seen, light, almost ethereal, gathering around a bicycle. They seem in sync, almost accomplices, certainly used to handling that common means of transport and sport. We approach with curiosity, trying to intuit their faces and, having taken the last steps, emotion overwhelms us as the fog clears. They are indeed them, four champions of two wheels! Libero Ferrario, Ercole Baldini, Vittorio Adorni and Felice Gimondi!
Their lives, spent between fatigue, speed and success, reunite on November 27th, in a single moment that erases time and exalts their feats with the issue of four stamps dedicated to them.
It seems to hear them chatting with each other, men who have lived through the harshness of impossible roads, with archaic technical means (the first two) or only precursors of current bicycles (Adorni and Gimondi) between seriousness and playfulness, joking about the fact that their faces are now imprinted on a stamp. And so everyone begins to tell their "philatelic" experiences. Libero remembers stamps when postcards arrived from the front from his acquaintances during the Great War, Ercole - called the train of Forlì - tells his friends this morning about a letter sent to his mother from Melbourne during the Olympics to announce his emotions after the gold medal, Vittorio with a touch of emotion pulls out the postal seal on the postcard dedicated to him on the occasion of the Giro d'Italia stage in Aprica in 2022. Then Felice, who spent his adolescence with stamps while helping his mother, a postwoman from Sedrina, to deliver mail on a bicycle.
Four champions from different eras, all winners, all to be celebrated now that the crowd's clamor no longer encourages them but constantly remembers their deeds. Histrionic, sympathetically boastful, modest but all united by a passion in this beautiful celebration that will now tour Italy again, but not on two wheels, but through correspondence or collecting.
The Issue
Curated by the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, the issue of four stamps that are part of the thematic series "Sport" is now a reality.
The vignettes depict four Italian world champion cyclists portrayed, within colored frames, on their bicycles. The four athletes are respectively:
- Libero Ferrario: first Italian to win the World Championship in 1923;
- Ercole Baldini: World Champion in 1958;
- Vittorio Adorni: World Champion in 1968;
- Felice Gimondi: World Champion in 1973.
Each vignette is delimited, at the bottom, by a band characterized by blue, red, black, yellow and green colors, taken from the iridescent jersey worn by world champions. The Italian flag seals the composition, top right. The respective legends complete the stamp: "LIBERO FERRARIO 1901 - 1930", "ERCOLE BALDINI 1933 - 2022", "VITTORIO ADORNI 1937 - 2022", "FELICE GIMONDI 1942 - 2019", the inscription "ITALIA" and the tariff indication "A".
Print run: two hundred thousand four copies for each stamp - Graphic designer: Fabio Abbati
Let's return to Vigorelli, a monument to so many feats. It's the moment of farewell to the four athletes who move away still telling each other their sporting stories, the many difficult moments, the cups raised and medals won, the jerseys worn with that iridescent jersey that made them eternal, while three other great cyclists approach them, united by a stamp: Fausto Coppi, Gino Bartali and Alfonsina Strada. Emotion increases and dissolves into tears of joy seeing the Olympus of cycling moving away as if they were all about to set off for a new stage, that of eternity that sees their faces and lives carved out to make cycling and sports lovers happy.
Good postal journey dear Libero, Ercole, Vittorio and Felice and... thank you!

(photo credits Mimit - Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy)