Superga, homage to Grande Torino: Park for Mazzola, the complete program

From our correspondent Mario Pagliara

May 3rd
-Turin

74 years ago, these champions entered the legend and became a phenomenon of the customs and history of our country. Even in sorrow they wrote a page full of love. Torino and the city of Turin are ready to commemorate the Grande Torino on the anniversary of this terrible accident that took the life of one of the strongest football teams of all time on May 4, 1949 at 17.03 in the crash on the Colle di Superga. As every year, the Grenade Club, in collaboration with institutions and associations, has put together a rich program to celebrate the invincible in the best possible way. On May 4th, Turin will be the capital of world football, the day that FIFA, on behalf of Grande Torino, has declared World Football Day.

From the monumental to the pier

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On May 4th, the celebrations begin at 10:30 am in the Monumental Cemetery, where many of these formidable champions are buried. Half an hour earlier, from 10am, Turin will open the Cortile della Memoria in Philadelphia, home of the Invincibles, making it accessible to the many fans who will descend on the city from all over Italy. Various representations of foreign fans are also expected, such as those of River Plate and Benfica, which have always been associated with the Granata in memory of the Grande Torino. At 12.30 p.m. the gardens will be inaugurated in Piazza Galimberti, very close to the Filadelfia, which will bear the name of Captain Valentino Mazzola. To make this day even more special, Torino has once again decided to allow fans to attend Juric’s team training session: the appointment will take place at 1 p.m. at the Fila. At the end, the leadership and team will go to Superga, where Don Riccardo Robella, chaplain of the Toro, will celebrate Mass in the Basilica. At 17.03, for the first time in his life, Alessandro Buongiorno will read the names of the 31 victims in front of the tombstone: tradition has it that Captain del Toro reads the names, this time Captain Rodriguez was the protagonist of a gesture of great kindness that allowed the heart -Stier Buongiorno (joined the club at the age of six) to maintain this honor and burden. In the evening, Turin falls asleep with the Mole Antonelliana glittering with shells.

New portraits

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Thousands of fans are expected at the Colle. You will find a pleasant surprise: along the walkway of memory, that is, the path that leads from the basilica to the tombstone, people of good will in love with the bull have completely redesigned the portraits of the faces of the players of the Grande Torino, which in the meantime deteriorated because they were exposed to bad weather every day of the year. The graphics of the photos were taken care of by Nicoletta Perini, granddaughter of the brothers Aldo and Dino Ballarin, she is also the driving force behind the Chioggia Museum dedicated to the Ballarins and the Grande Torino. The initiative was carried out in consultation with the Circolo Soci Torino FC 1906 chaired by Leonardo D’Alessandro and with Gianluca Vigna by Federico Fiammengo, the company currently renovating one of Philadelphia’s two historic abutments.