“ …When Nuvolari passes by people wait for his arrival for hours and hours and finally when they hear the noise they jump up…”

The pilots who have been able to excel and give themselves fame have been many, but only the glory of a few champions has managed to survive the time of their exploits, just as it has happened and still happens today for very few characters who have become a myth in the various sectors of sport. For example, the exploits of Zatopek in the field of athletics, those of Coppi in cycling or those of the Brazilian Pelè in football, will remain unchanged in time. Motor sport, however, demands a great deal from those who practice it because it is more demanding and risky than any other sporting activity and this applies to the champions of today as well as those of the past. In sporting mythology, the driver is a man of great courage, with the ability and will to fight, contemptuous of danger, able to tame the power of his car, aware that death in a race is part of the budget of his life. Until 1930, drivers wore the "caschetta" or cyclist's cap, which had a chequered design. Then the helmet became compulsory and one saw helmets of all shapes and colours. Also the attire was very formal. Tazio Nuvolari, in the race outfit was really unique, with his light blue "zuava" trousers, the yellow sweaters with the small good luck turtle given to him by Gabriele D'Annunzio, the black leather helmet and the white sandals. Nuvolari. Never has the name of a champion fit so well with the epic of his time. In the Thirties, cars drove between rows of trees and potholes, leaving behind them a trail of admiration and a curtain of dust and smoke. Nuvolari was a daredevil, his whole life was marked by courage and risk, but he always came out alive, even if not always unharmed, from the most frightening accidents that would have been fatal for anyone.

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"...When Nuvolari passes by, people wait for him to arrive for hours and hours and finally when they hear the noise they jump up..." sings Lucio Dalla in a famous song dedicated to the Mantuan driver whose human and sporting story is so full of suggestions that it still reaches us intact today. The popular imagination made him a myth and, to that little man who knew how to dominate the racing cars like no other, who knew how to gain ground in the most dangerous curves, who raced even when he was wounded, in plaster, and who didn't retire even when he broke the steering wheel, gave unforgettable nicknames of legend: Nivola, Maestro, The Devil, The Flying Antivan.

Also Gabriele D'Annunzio, that like Nuvolari loved the risk, was fascinated and wanted to know him. They met only once, on 28 April 1932, at the Vittoriale. This is testified by a historical photo that shows them sitting on the step of the new Alfa Romeo 1750. At the moment of saying goodbye, D'Annunzio offered "to the fastest man in the world, the slowest animal". It was the mythical golden turtle that "Nivola" always wanted with him, as a lucky charm pinned to his yellow racing shirt, printed on writing paper and painted on the nacelle of his plane. Image source: web