Madonna di Ghisallo: Venerated by Cyclists

The climb of the Ghisallo is traditionally included in the Tour of Lombardy , and has often been included in the Tour of Italy. For this reason, the Madonna del Ghisallo is especially venerated by cyclists, and in 1948 Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Madonna di Ghisallo the universal patron saint of cyclists. On this occasion a votive torch blessed by the Pope, was brought from Rome to the sanctuary by a relay team of cyclists, the latter two torchbearers were Bartali and Coppi.

Inside this small church since many decades many relics of cycling champions are preserved: the bikes used by Bartali, Coppi and Merckx in their victories of the Tour de France, the special bike used by Moser. In the square in front of the Sanctuary there is a statue of the two great cyclers, Coppi and Bartali. As the Sanctuary in time became too small to hold all the relics, close to the church the cycle museum was built.