Madonna del Ghisallo
Bellagio, Italy
The Madonna del Ghisallo is a col with a length of 8.6 kilometer. This is a category 2 col. It is located in Bellagio, Lombardia, Italy. The average grade of this col is 7.1% with a maximum of 10.3%. The Madonna del Ghisallo ascents from 289 meter at the start, to 755 meter at the top, with a total of 506 ascending meters.
Profile
Facts
| Distance | 8.6 km |
| Elevation gain | 506 m |
| Average grade | 7.1 % |
| Maximum grade | 10.3 % |
| Climb category | 2 |
| Minimum elevation | 289 m |
| Maximum elevation | 755 m |
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Description
Madonna del Ghisallo, in full Santuario della Madonna del Ghisallo, is a little church from 1632 on the hill Ghisallo, near Lake Como in Italy, and is named after a legendary maria appearance. The church is famous as a place of pilgrimage for cycling in Italy. It is situated along the route of the Tour of Lombardy, about halfway between the towns of Canzo and Regatola (at the land point in the lake) and 50 kilometres from the town of Varese.
In 1949, at the suggestion of the priest Ermelindo Viganò, Pope Pius XII proclaimed Madonna del Ghisallo the patron saint of cyclists. Since then the church has been visited by cyclists. In the church an eternal flame is burning for dead cyclists. In front of the church there is a statue of Fausto Coppi, unveiled in 1960, and a statue of Gino Bartali, two champions of past. On 31 May 2006 the last stone - blessed by Pope Benedict XVI - was laid for a cycling museum, which was built next to the chapel. In the museum you can find cycling memories: racing bikes, biographies and photos, tricots of winners and so on. Also the twisted bicycle with which regional cyclist Fabio Casartelli crashed is present here. Memories of Dutch male riders here: Joop Zoetemelk and a rainbow jersey by Hennie Kuiper. In 2014 Marianne Vos (triple Giro winner) donated one of her pink sweaters to the museum.
- Il Lombardia 2011 - 2020
- Il Piccolo Lombardia 2018
- Giro d'Italia 2019 - Stage 15