The Giro d’Italia returns to Pisa. After 45 years since the last appearance of Italy’s most beloved cycling event—and one of the most popular sporting events overall—the city of the Leaning Tower will once again take center stage on May 20 with a time trial stage.
And in the week leading up to the colorful caravan’s passage, the Giro d’Italia will also make a symbolic stop at Palazzo Blu with the exhibition “Pisan Stories of the Giro d’Italia”, featuring a rich selection of historical images from the Allegrini and Frassi photographic archives, curated by the “Fondazione Pisa”.

The Giro d’Italia first arrived in Pisa exactly a century ago, in 1925. It came through on the afternoon of Monday, May 18, along Viale delle Piagge. The crowd surged when they saw a lone cyclist riding ahead—he was triumphantly celebrated as the winner. But five minutes later, the real peloton arrived, and the “false winner” was exposed and fined for disturbing public order. He turned out to be a cycling enthusiast and carpenter from Ponsacco.

The last time the Giro passed through Pisa was in 1980: on May 20, the caravan arrived in the city for the Pontedera–Pisa time trial. The most iconic image from that day captures individual cyclists racing with the Leaning Tower as their backdrop.

Over the years, the Giro d’Italia has passed through Pisa a total of seven times. In one instance, in 1937, the city was part of the route of the Maria di Massa–Livorno stage.
Each time the Giro passes through, it’s not only a thrilling race—it’s also a public celebration that brings excitement and color to the city.

The exhibition, curated by Renzo Castelli, features many such moments, captured in a selection of photographs that recount the sporting event, the cyclists on their bikes, and the warm welcome of the city and its people.
The photos on display were taken by Guido Allegrini before World War II and by Luciano Frassi in the postwar period—both master photojournalists and keen observers of their times.