Farewell to a great world of skiing
fisi.org
'' It missed the last night in Milan at 92 years Rolly Marchi, great writer, organizer and inventor of important Italian skiing events, all of the Trofeo Topolino. '' The Press Office of the Italian Winter Sports Federation, whom we thank, pays tribute to him with a glimpse of his life written by himself.
Monday 14 October 2013 22 minutes reading time
It'' died last night in Milan, Rolly Marchi, 92 years lived intensely, creatively and with the lightness of a snowflake. He leaves a great teacher of journalism, a "craftsman" of photography, an organizer, a writer from the pen fine, an inventor, a pioneer in the history of skiing in Italy. His last public appearance with the Friends of Fisi dates back to 2012, when he participated with his usual verve to the presentation of the project FuturFisi, in the company of Alberto Tomba. The President Flavio Roda and all the Italian Winter Sports Federation join in the grief of the family in this sorrowful moment.
Here's a glimpse of the immense story of Rolly, which he regalataci last year, when he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award Fis.
Rolando Brands, whose name was first synthesized in Rolly by a group of skiers Tuscan university he trained on Monte Bondone during a military license in January 1942, was born in Lavis, 8 km from Trento, 31 May 1921, by his father Cyrus , winemaker and irredentist friend of Cesare Battisti, and mother Emma, ​​a teacher. Only child.
He attended grammar school and high school in Rovereto "Meadows" in Trento, he graduated in law in Bologna, a thesis entitled "Civil liability of sport" first of its kind in Italy and certainly to which the great Gianni Brera, devoted a beautiful piece on the front page of Gazzetta dello Sport.
His youthful passions were athletics, skiing, mountaineering, although his first competitive experiences are due to cycling (ages 16 to 17 years, a victory twelve placings - for the stature and ability , in the sprint was called Di Paco, sample time).
He made the war in the Grenadiers of Sardinia, wounded in combat, decorated with this praise:
"Under the command of a training department, under violent enemy fire, reached the position assigned to him. With the example of his cool courage, galvanizing employees who, despite the heavy losses and the preponderance of the means opponents, held their relentless enemy. Always first where the greater the danger, continued to animate the desperate defense, as long as it was wounded. "
Syracuse July 10, 1943
Prisoner in Africa, first officer to return to Trento with the Allied troops in May 1945, the slice of life that told in his novel The Silence of the cicadas, reviewed in a flattering way, among many, by Indro Montanelli, who among other said: "I went to bed and I picked up the book to see how it began and then I never leave until three in the morning." Even Candido Reedy, editor of the Journal of Sport and Sicilian by birth, he dedicated a book to his precious piece.
After the war, in Trento, Marks has organized the concert season, revealing the city Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Franco Mannino, The Italian Quartet, in addition to others, and also to different music, like that of Luciano Sangiorgi. From that experience was born the association of the famous Choir of the SAT (Society Mountaineers Tridentini) with the even more famous Benedetti Michelangeli.
In the same period Rolly gathered and launched the sport lost boys, orphans, convened on Wednesday at the stadium Briamasco in Trento: made them run and jump, rewarding them with chocolate. The event lasted for a year and was named Wednesday Italcima, excellent product donated by Pizzoccaro, esteemed family of Milan. Following the initiative of Rolly moved a priest, Don Ziglio, who collected these young people in a house on the hill of the city.
In 1939, Rolly Marchi had founded his first company in Trento sport, the Sporting Group Cesare Battisti which still exists, having matched the ATA Trentino Athletic Association. C'' is also his paw in the birth of the 3-Tre (January 1950), the famous race of World Cup skiing, which then raced around Trento (note 3-Tre three races in Trento): down Paganella, dominated by the champion Zeno Colo, slalom and giant slalom in Serrada on Monte Bondone, and now continues in Madonna di Campiglio. But Rolly Marchi just after the war, he also founded the Ski Schools del Monte Bondone (1945-46) and Paganella (1946-47), places where organized various competitions. Some of them won, the trophy on the Dal Lake Bondone and a descent into Paganella, and I ran many others, such as the Direttissima on the Marmolada and the famous Hahnenkamm in Kitzbuhel in 1947. In 1945 Bondone had another bright idea, proposing to the Allied Forces to send every week a hundred military convalescent or in need of rest, so that they occupied for over two months three hotels. With Giuliano Babini, blue ski, and other friends, also in 1945 had founded the SAI, Skiing Academic Italian.
During the summer, they revealed to his countrymen the "miracle" of skiing, he discovered with the Americans in Punta Ala, during a break of war. He performed on Lake Caldonazzo also with actor Douglas Fairbanks U.S..
In 1958, spurred by Mike Bongiorno invented the Trofeo Topolino in a few years became the most important race for kids in the world. Even today, involving young people from over 40 nations. Then he also created Ausonia Sprint, Mediolanum Boys and Fila Sprint, as well as the Grand Prix Lightning Bolts revealed and gave Alberto Tomba, Claudia Giordani and Piero Gros.
In 1959 he promoted the first race of KL, the Kilometer Launched on Mont Blanc in Courmayeur, an event and then spread throughout the world. The Parallel of Christmas is one of his creatures, first edition in Passo del Tonale in 1974.
In 1971 he founded the Ski Club Rolly Go, the name of a line of sportswear created by him. First partner wanted to be a writer Dino Buzzati. A year later, with his lawyer friend Franco de Pilati, organized the first Gigantissimo on the Marmolada, type of race then imitated in some stations in the Alps
Urged by the passion for sailing his son Jacopo, Rolly thought and decided to do the first Italian yacht for the America's Cup challenge of sailing. Prepared the conceptual design and accompanied by the authoritative friend Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was received in Turin Advocate Gianni Agnelli was enthusiastic granting him the first loan of 600 million lire. The second member was the Aga Kahn and the third great friend Pietro Barilla.
Cycling: in 1955 because he was a friend of the owner of the company that made the toothpaste Chlorodont and Leocrema, and proposed to set up a cycling team, the Sporting Group Chlorodont. One of his pupils, Gastone Nencini, won the Tour of Italy by winning the pink jersey at the finish line just on Monte Bondone (1957). Rolly is considered by the UCI, the International Cycling Union, the promoter of the first extra-cycling sponsorship.
As a mountaineer has climbed the Matterhorn twice (one by myself), and then the Mexican Popocatepetl, Mount Kenya, les Grandes Jorasses, Mont Blanc and a hundred steep walls of the Dolomites. His gem staff is to have the rope tied to his sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who conquered Everest with New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary, and bringing him on the Paganella to make the first ascent of his life in Europe.
Again on the subject of ascents accompanied the famous Dino Buzzati to climb the Croda da Lago, the last climb of the writer Belluno in 1966. His climbing companions were Cesare Maestri, Walter Bonatti, Toni Masè, Marco Franceschini, Bepi De Francesch, with whom the day of his fiftieth birthday he climbed the edge PIAZ to Pordoi and the famous Manolo mate in 1997 on Punta Fiammes in Cortina in the same year salts also the Campanile di Val Montanaia with the eccentric and strong Mauro Corona. Rolly Marchi was honorary president of the School of Rock "Giorgio Graffer", the most famous in Italy.
Journalist: while attending the university and its various sports passions grew, he began to write for the newspaper of Trento and the revived historical and authoritative magazine Snow and Ice. The Director Pio Antonio Caliari, President of the FIS wanted him with him to St. Moritz for his first Olympics. After graduating in 1950 he left to settle in Milan, Trento, called by a friend to do the insurer. In the same year Gianni Brera, witty read an article posted on a single number at the University of Pavia, invited him to the Gazzetta dello Sport, where he wrote until 1956 before moving with Brera, the new newspaper Il Giorno. He has written for The Newspaper, cultural page, and is also romantically returned to the Gazzetta dello Sport. For twenty years he has published a valued bi-annual magazine, The Good Snow. It is the only journalist in the world that has followed all the Olympic Winter Games in Turin from 1948 until 2006. With those summer has seen and reported with 23 ("is not a boast, it's registrar and health" as he said also Indro Montanelli).
In 1957, he reveals winning writer with his first novel Award St. Vincent. He published several novels: A big man, hands hard, Ride the moon and the silence of the crickets and books of short stories: The tram of life, to forget Snow, White Words, And still the snow and If there were no the love.
Ride the Moon premiered at Campiello, The hands had a hard Prize CONI.
Also in the cultural field in Cencenighe Trademarks organized the first retrospective exhibition of paintings and drawings by Dino Buzzati (1985), taking care of an important catalog: a remarkable achievement. Also appreciated the initiative Agordino Prix d'Oro - Discretes, an event that has honored people of considerable merit, but confidential, or "discrete", such as the widow of the illustrious statesman Alcide De Gasperi, the wife of Indro Montanelli awarded the Head of State Sandro Pertini, who was also much applauded between the vertical dolomite rocks. The champion Gustavo Thoeni skiing and many other carefully chosen by the jury of which were part of the Minister Virginio Rognoni, the oncologist Umberto Veronesi, the well-known name of sport and fashion Ottavio Missoni and the president of the Agordino Golden Floriano Pra .
In 1956 he was Speaker of the Official Olympic Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo on television and told the chronicles of the 1958 World Championships and other international competitions. Also carried out two lucky television series "Skiing is a fantastic sport" with Zeno Colo and Giuliana Minuzzo and "Invitation to the sport" (1965-1966).
Good photographer ("international class" wrote Dino Buzzati) has published books for Olivetti, Parmalat and others, from the titles: Where skiing, Mexico 68, azure, Sapporo 72, Monaco 72, The year of ours, and a dozen yet. He made also a timetable for Marlboro with twelve Olympic her pictures, and one for Montedison.
For some years he was called "the cowboy of the snow," the black hat imposed by Walt Disney Olympic Games in Squaw Valley in 1960.
His latest creation sporty, contemporary in The Silence of the cicadas (also judged by critics his best book) is a unique and "affectionate" Cross-country ski race called 6 - Families Championship, which was played in Andalo-Paganella, the mountain overlooking his country of birth.
In 1998, he took to heart a charity, that is, to find the necessary funds to build a little hospital at 4850 meters above sea level to the 13,000 Tibetan nomads who lived in tents and only surviving sheep and yak and selling salt. The operation, as they say, went into port in a short time also meeting the Chinese government. The little hospital, dedicated to Fosco Maraini, well-known writer and mountaineer, has been launched by Rolly and his other friends twenty-four 7 June 1999.
There have been two exhibitions, one of the other objects and photography and painting, open from October 1999 to March 2000. The proposal was immediately well received by the Region of Lombardy, CAI, from Fisi and some major companies and especially appreciated by the governor Roberto Formigoni.
In 2002, the Committee of the Community of Macugnaga Walser has been awarded the prestigious Marquee St. Bernard, named after the patron saint of mountain people, an award that is given to men and women who have been operating with success and love for the mountains, its people and sports. In fact Rolly was officially called "Decathleta of Life."
In 2004, the FIS, the International Ski Federation, raised him to the character of honor of the ski world. His last major initiative was, in the same year, the realization in Skardu in Pakistan of a museum intended to remind the centuries the success of Italian climbers on K2 July 31, 1954, and the attendance before and after.
The initiative has been welcomed immediately welcomed by the head of state, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, was funded for ten generous friends Rolly and the museum was inaugurated August 2, 2004 in the presence also of high authorities of Pakistan.
Unfortunately, as a result, his creativity was blocked by a serious car accident in Bolzano where he had parked in place allowed by the traffic regulations and where he was hit by a truck swerved at high speed.
In the left Rolly has unfortunately lost two thirds of its view.
Rolly Marchi lived in Milan and when he could in Cortina d'Ampezzo, his second home, but he never neglected Trento. He was married Graziella, an established painter, and had two children, Paul, journalist, and Jacopo, business executive and four grandchildren: White, Purple, Alice and Brando.
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