MARCIALONGA FLIES HIGH

Every year, on the last weekend of January, the valleys of Fiemme and Fassa, Italy, host one of the most famous cross-country skiing events in the world – Marcialonga.
Fifty years have passed since 7th February 1971 (before 1974, the race used to be held between late January and early February) and the Autonomous Province of Trento has decided to give Marcialonga the prestigious “Aquila di San Venceslao” (Eagle of St. Wenceslaus, a prize recalling the tradition of Trentino and its autonomy), which had never been given to a sporting event before. It was awarded to the organising committee of Marcialonga “for the importance it has had and the role it has played in the last 50 years. This prize goes to the event, its organising committee as well as its volunteers for their ability to have invented and kept organising a world-famous sporting event in Trentino”.
The President of the Autonomous Province of Trento Maurizio Fugatti presented the special prize to Angelo Corradini, President of Marcialonga, who immediately dedicated it to the 1,500 volunteers who every year perform “miracles” to make the event a success. “Miracle” is the exact word Giuseppe Ferrandi, director of the Museo Storico del Trentino (Trentino’s History Museum), used to define the race. He announced the award and the exhibition on the 50 years of Marcialonga which is held this summer in Piazza de Sotegrava in Moena, the town where the Marcialonga race starts.
President Fugatti stated: “We believe that Marcialonga has given so much to the local area as well as to the autonomy of Trentino. It has meant so much in social, cultural, sporting and economic terms. This prize has been awarded to Marcialonga in recognition of the great job done in the last 50 years”.
After the performance of the Moena ensemble (Banda di Moena), Angelo Corradini took the stage: “This is probably the highest award Marcialonga has received in its 50 years. On behalf of the entire organising committee, I would like to sincerely thank the Autonomous Province of Trento in the person of President Fugatti and his collaborators, and I would like to thank the Municipality of Moena and the Fondazione Museo Storico for the wonderful exhibition. This award goes to every single volunteer who has been helping us make everything possible. By volunteers I mean not only the people who help, but also the municipalities and all the bodies and associations that work in the area – we consider them all to be our volunteers. Today we can perhaps see a little light at the end of the tunnel. This pandemic got all of us on the ropes, including the Marcialonga committee. However, even in this difficult moment, Marcialonga has managed to organise the 2021 edition. It’s not been easy, but the results and the recognition have been tangible. Marcialonga is part of the social fabric of Fiemme and Fassa, it is perhaps the only occasion when two valleys marked by a healthy “local rivalry” work together to reach a common goal. For one day these two valleys cheer and help Marcialonga. In these years Marcialonga has brought more than 250,000 participants to Fiemme and Fassa. It has brought something like two and a half million tourist overnight stays in the two valleys and thousands of hours of TV and media coverage all over Europe”. The greetings then went to Mario Cristofolini, one of the founders of Marcialonga, who attended the ceremony in a sun-kissed Piazza de Sotegrava: “Mario Cristofolini, Giulio Giovannini, Roberto Moggio and Nele Zorzi had a great intuition and left us a legacy that teaches us to keep doing better and better”. Then Corradini offered the Marcialonga trophy to President Fugatti – a trophy made of local wood thanks to the collaboration with the Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme, which carries the traditions of Fiemme and Fassa around the world. The trophy is made of larch and fir wood while the label is made of resonance wood.
The exhibition on the 50 years of Marcialonga was then inaugurated. It’s been organised by Giuseppe Ferrandi and curated by the general manager of Marcialonga Davide Stoff as well as by Alessandro De Bertolini and Roberta Tait. Many people attended the ceremony, including the mayor of Moena Alberto Kostner, the representatives of the municipalities of Fassa and Fiemme, the senator Elena Testor, the provincial councillors Luca Guglielmi, Pietro De Godenz and Luca Cavada, the “procurador” of the Comun General Giuseppe Detomas and the commissioner of the Comunità Territoriale Valle di Fiemme Giovanni Zanon.
From the stage Corradini announced that despite the fact that the pandemic is still holding back foreigners, only a few places are still available for the next Marcialonga. The weekend of 29th and 30th January 2022 will still be one to remember.
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