Mattarella, Bartali symbol of Italy

(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 5 - "The name of Gino Bartali, eleggenda champion of Italian cycling, is inscribed in the history of national sport and represents one of the symbols of post-war Italy" but "will also be remembered as Giustotra le Nazioni for the courageous and silent commitment to the rescue network, built by the Archbishop and Rabbi of Florence, which allowed hundreds of citizens of the Jewish religion to escape persecution and deportation ".
   So the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, with a message, remembers, 20 years after his death, Gino Bartali, stressing that "the discretion with which over the years he has guarded an enterprise of such great human value still honors his memory".