Pedalare! Pedalare!: A History of Italian Cycling
John Foot
Pedalare! Pedalare!: A History of Italian Cycling
Cycling was a sport so important in Italy that it marked a generation, sparked fears of civil war, changed the way Italian was spoken, led to legal reform and even prompted the Pope himself to praise a cyclist, by name, from his balcony in St Peter's in Rome. It was a sport so popular that it created the geography of Italy in the minds of her citizens, and some have said that it was cycling, not political change, that united Italy. "Pedalare! Pedalare!" is the first complete history of Italian cycling to be published in English. The book moves chronologically from the first Giro d'Italia (Italy's equivalent of the Tour de France) in 1909 to the present day. The tragedies and triumphs of great riders such as Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali appear alongside stories of the support riders, snow-bound mountains and the first and only woman to ride the whole Giro. Cycling's relationship with Italian history, politics and culture is always up front, with reference to fascism, the cold war and the effect of two world wars. The sport is explored alongside changes in Italian society as a whole, from the poor peasants who took up cycling in the early, pioneering period, to the slick, professional sport of today.
2.8 out of 5 based on 3 reviews
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Omniscore:
|
| Classification |
Non-fiction |
| Genre |
Sports, Hobbies & Games |
| Format |
Paperback |
| Pages |
384 |
| RRP |
£14.99 |
| Date of Publication |
May 2011 |
| ISBN |
978-0747595212 |
| Publisher |
Bloomsbury |
| |
Cycling was a sport so important in Italy that it marked a generation, sparked fears of civil war, changed the way Italian was spoken, led to legal reform and even prompted the Pope himself to praise a cyclist, by name, from his balcony in St Peter's in Rome. It was a sport so popular that it created the geography of Italy in the minds of her citizens, and some have said that it was cycling, not political change, that united Italy. "Pedalare! Pedalare!" is the first complete history of Italian cycling to be published in English. The book moves chronologically from the first Giro d'Italia (Italy's equivalent of the Tour de France) in 1909 to the present day. The tragedies and triumphs of great riders such as Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali appear alongside stories of the support riders, snow-bound mountains and the first and only woman to ride the whole Giro. Cycling's relationship with Italian history, politics and culture is always up front, with reference to fascism, the cold war and the effect of two world wars. The sport is explored alongside changes in Italian society as a whole, from the poor peasants who took up cycling in the early, pioneering period, to the slick, professional sport of today.
Reviews
The Spectator
Cressida Connolly
"John Foot, who is Professor of Modern Italian History at University College London, is erudite and spry: to succeed in making this book appealing to the non-enthusiast is quite a feat. The key to his success lies with the larger-than-life characters who people these pages."
14/05/2011
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The Guardian
Thomas Jones
"The decline in the importance of the Giro has partly to do with the way that, as Foot says, "the very idea of Italy began to crumble" at the end of the 20th century. But it also has to do with the disconnection between cycling and everyday life … Cycling's mass appeal lay partly in its mass use as a means of transport. Now it's a middle-class hobby."
20/05/2011
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The Independent on Sunday
Steve Jelbert
"Traditionally, cycling histories are written by cyclists who empathise directly with their subjects. Pedalare! Pedalare!, however, the first general account in English of the second great biking culture, is written by an academic who specialises in deconstructing Italian national myths ... Purists won't be keen."
08/05/2011
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