With this year's Tour de France starting in Florence, it's the perfect opportunity to celebrate the city's cycling hero: two-time Tour de France winner, Gino Bartali. Piazzale Michelangelo, nicknamed "the balcony of Florence" for its expansive views over the Tuscan capital from its vantage point just over the Arno river, will take centre stage at the Tour de France’s Grand Depart on 29 June. This is where teams of elite cyclists will be presented to masses of fans before the official race departure from Piazza della Signoria in the historic city centre.
This is the Tour’s first departure from Italy, and locals simply cannot wait. For bicycle-mad Italy, having just hosted the Giro d’Italia , this is truly an occasion to be proud of. "I am incredibly excited about the Grand Departure in Florence and believe that the Tour de France could only start from here and from the beauty of Tuscany, a true land of cycling," said Silvia Livoni, cycle tourism consultant for Tuscany’s tourism agency, Toscana Promozione Turistica.
And for Florence, it's the perfect opportunity to celebrate their own cycling hero, three-time Giro d’Italia and two-time Tour de France winner, Gino Bartali, who is also being officially honoured as part of the Tour's promotion. Born in 1914 in Ponte a Ema, a small town near Florence, Bartali grew up to become one of the greatest cyclists in history. As a child, Bartali cycled up to Piazzale Michelangelo with his brother Giulio to admire the beautiful dom.
