EDITION 2022

WHEN IT ALL BEGAN

The first edition of IL GIRO DEI VENTI was held from June 26 to July 1, 2022.

A five-day amateur competition, divided by stages between Salento and Greece, saw 18 crews, each consisting of two cyclist friends and two sailor friends, compete.

Three cycling stages faced: Santa Maria di Leuca – Otranto and back (100 km), a ride to the island of Corfu (43.9 km), and, finally, Santa Maria di Leuca – Gallipoli and back (113.8 km). Two, however, sailing crossings: from Santa Maria di Leuca to Kerkyra (Corfu), and back.

For each cycling and sailing stage, participants in the competition were scored by their finishing position number. At the end of the five competitions, the sum of points decreed the crews with the lowest scores as the winners.

The award ceremony, held in Spongano (LE), in Piazza Vittoria, was held on July 1, 2022. Presenting was Germano Lanzoni, the official speaker of A.C. Milan.

The event involved the entire town of Spongano, which opened the courtyards of several town buildings to the public for the occasion. Inside, participants and visitors were able to taste the best local products, immersed in a magical atmosphere.

PROJECTS.

THE WORLD AROUND THE IL GIRO DEI VENTI

THE PROJECT “SPORTINESS – OUTDOOR CLASSROOMS”

Sports and wellness, an inseparable pair to promote healthy lifestyles.

Born from the innovative drive of a unique sports event to invite young people to actively participate in the event, the “Sportness – Outdoor Classrooms” project involved 6 high schools in Lecce and province, together with the University of Salento. Each school fielded specific actions and produced, through workshops and laboratories, materials dedicated to the event, with a view to promoting it and participating at the forefront of the various stages of its implementation.

The University of Salento, as a qualified partner, made a very important contribution in the training phase of the students and the implementation of the activities they carried out.

1ST STAGE – WEB CONFERENCE

2ND STAGE – CONTEST

3RD STAGE – “SCHOOL DAY” WORKSHOP AND OUTDOOR CLASSROOMS

4TH STAGE – FINAL EVENING

THE WEB CONFERENCE

A training series consisting of 3 meetings, lasting about 1 1/2 hours each, was an opportunity for discussion and debate among the participants. Among the topics addressed: sports, health, sustainability, development opportunities and enterprise.

For the occasion, the “Industry and Handicrafts for Made in Italy – Fashion Production” sector developed a path to take students on a journey to discover the local area and tradition.

Within the textile workshop, 19 skirts and three wheel dresses were designed and made, with the specific interest of enhancing Salento folk traditions and, in particular, the heritage of oral and musical culture through the symbolism of the Circle and the Center, transfused into the ‘pizzica’ dance. In fact, the widespread cultural phenomenon in recent decades, aimed at recovering the past and local traditions, is pushing new generations to approach folk music. Many pupils turn out to be increasingly fascinated by the rhythm of the pizzica and its dance. As a result, they are motivated to discover its values and meanings.

In an overall project, part of a National Operational Program (NOP) carried out on the occasion of “The Wheel, the Circle, the Round,” each participant was explained the meaning of choreographic aspects of ethnic music, the main costumes and colors (white, red and black) used in that context-graphics of Salento dance. This type of dance, much akin to that of Mediterranean civilizations, involves characteristic circular movements. The project brought the pupils back to a dimension of discovering their own territory, linked to a land/bridge on the sea exposed to the winds that condition choices and movements, “the patrol,” an incessant coming and going that allows them to scrutinize the coasts and the territory, from one shore to the other, looking for deep and sometimes even ancestral sensations and motivations.

The discovery of the habitat, a poking back and forth in a perpetual motion like a spinning top, made it possible to choose elements that characterize the land of Salento and bring them pictorially to the fabric. Arranged circularly on the bottom of the skirts, to emphasize their movements and meanings, red poppies from the humble land and pictographs from the cave of Porto Badisco were introduced.

The work, carried out in groups under the guidance of outside experts and mentor teachers, in collaboration with laboratory staff, enabled the children to develop greater awareness and consciousness about their own identitỳ. In addition, by conceiving of themselves as part of a group, students were able to recognize correct and cooperative attitudes.

THE OUTFITS FOR THE SHOW ON THE FINAL NIGHT

20 skirts used in the procession on the final evening were made, within P.C.T.O paths, by the third grade students of the ISS “Don Tonino Bello and Nino della Notte” Institute in Tricase (LE) in the Modeling and Tailoring workshops.

THE GOWNS FOR THE SHOW AND THE DRESSES ON DISPLAY

The Professional Institute “Francesca Laura Morvillo Falcone” of Brindisi participated in the “Sportness – Outdoor Classrooms” project by making 20 skirts worn during the opening procession of the show Venti di passione, held in Spongano on July 1, 2022 on the occasion of the award ceremony for the winners of IL GIRO DEI VENTI.

In the final phase of the project, at the stand dedicated to schools (set up in the Santa Maria di Leuca sports village), two of the most beautiful dresses designed and worn by the Institute’s students were displayed:

  • The dress dedicated to the city of Brindisi
  • The dress dedicated to Melissa Bassi, victim of the heinous attack on May 19, 2012

In this project, in which sport from protagonist becomes a vehicle for culture, education, information and social awareness, the school is conceived as an active part and strategic partner in the promotion and enhancement of the territory.

MATCH RACE

The “ISS Don Tonino Bello and Nino della Notte” Institute of Tricase (LE) took part in the closing ceremony of IL GIRO DEI VENTI with its own boat, used as Committee Boat.

In addition, on July 1, 2022, the Institute participated in the Match Race held at sea under the guidance of Roberto Ferrarese and Guido Bianco