杏MAP导航 Leo XIV to greet Giro d'Italia cyclists passing through Vatican
By Vatican News
杏MAP导航 Leo XIV will greet the cyclists of the Giro d鈥橧talia on Sunday, June 1 at 3:30 PM, as they pass through Vatican City State.
The event will also serve as a tribute to the late 杏MAP导航 Francis, who had embraced the initiative originally proposed by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, and implemented in cooperation with the Governorate of Vatican City State and Athletica Vaticana.
The project for the Giro d鈥橧talia to pass through the Vatican鈥攁 symbolic 鈥渇irst stage鈥� in anticipation of the Jubilee of Sport scheduled for Saturday, June 14 and Sunday, June 15鈥攐riginated on October 28, 2021, according to a statement by the Dicastery for Culture and Education.
The occasion marked the formal presentation to Athletica Vaticana of its certificate of recognition as an official member of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
The initiative was publicly presented on April 29 at Capitoline Hill by Bishop Paul Tighe, Secretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education.
Entry of the cyclists into Vatican City
The route within the Vatican walls spans approximately 3 kilometers: each meter tells a story and evokes a sense of spirituality, blending art and nature with an unexpectedly rich and diverse fauna.
The cyclists will ride alongside St. Peter鈥檚 Basilica and the sacristy, then ascend toward the Vatican Gardens, passing by the Church of Saint Stephen of the Abyssinians, the Vatican Railway Station, and through the area of the Governor鈥檚 Palace.
Exit through the Porta del Perugino
The route will then trace along the walls on the so-called "Marian Path"鈥攁 kind of 鈥渨orld tour鈥� made possible by the presence of many images of the Mother of God, venerated as Patroness in various countries.
The path begins with the mosaic of Our Lady of Good Counsel, dear to Augustinian spirituality.
The route continues to the Quadrangular Garden and the Vatican Museums, including an avenue specifically dedicated to sport, recalling the competitions promoted by 杏MAP导航 Pius X in the early 1900s, even in the local street names.
The cyclists will then travel along Via delle Fondamenta, in the shadow of the Sistine Chapel and beside the apse of St. Peter鈥檚 Basilica, eventually arriving at Santa Marta Square, before exiting Vatican City through the Perugino Gate, onto Vicolo del Perugino.
Once back on Italian territory, there will be the official start of the Giro d鈥橧talia鈥檚 final stage.
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