Today’s stage of the Giro-E Enel 2025 began in Cormons. From there, the participants cycled on their pedal-assisted bikes to Gorizia. Saturday in the village, like the one described by Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi, was electric, in every possible way. The bikes being charged for the last time before the race, the saddles and handlebars being adjusted, and the attendees having fun and learning at the Green Fun Village. Then there was the show on stage, with the teams being presented and the signature check ceremony. All of this was of course in preparation for the actual race, because then it was all about hopping on the pedal-assisted bikes and starting the new stage.
The town of Cormons, in Friuli Venezia Giulia, has a Central European charm; it is nestled between beautiful hills and rows of vines and is famous for its high-quality wines and strong food and wine tradition. The Patriarchs of Aquileia and the Counts of Gorizia vied for the town. Cormons was involved in the clashes with the Republic of Venice, endured periods of occupation, became a thriving centre of Austria Hungary, then a land of bloody battles and finally once again part of Italy after the end of the First World War. Today the town is a symbol of peace. Here the armistice of Cormons was signed in 1866, marking the end of hostilities between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire, and was followed by the Vienna Peace Treaty. Moreover, on a hill about ten kilometres away from Cormons stands the Ara Pacis Mundi of Medea. This monument complex, built in 1951, includes clumps of soil taken from the national and foreign war cemeteries in Italy, from all the fronts and extermination camps, as well as the bottles with sea water taken where ships of various nations sank.
After devoting their time to cycling, the participants of the Giro-E Enel (and others too) should really come back to visit this place.
