“Pino Faraca was not only a great sportsman, but also a man of culture and, above all, an authentic Cosenza native, deeply linked to his city”. With these words, Mayor Franz Caruso spoke this morning at the inauguration of an iron work dedicated to the champion who passed away in 2016, located in the Wellness Park, at the entrance to the city cycle path near Piazza Giacomo Mancini. In remembering Faraca ten years after his death, Franz Caruso underlined the Administration’s desire to restore to the collective memory a complex and multifaceted figure: a high-level athlete, but also a sensitive artist and interpreter of his time.
“The Faraca family – he stated – continues to give the city examples of talent and dedication. Pino, in addition to his sporting successes, has also distinguished himself in the artistic field: his pictorial works and the exhibitions created today represent a shared heritage, which belongs to the community”. Retracing the sporting career of the cyclist from Cosenza, the First Citizen highlighted how Faraca was the protagonist from a very young age in a cycling season profoundly different from the current one, winning over one hundred victories at national and international level. A path often reduced, in the common imagination, to single symbolic episodes, but in reality rich and continuous, marked by the technical quality and competitive consistency of the athlete. “He was not only the rider who won the white jersey at the Giro d’Italia – added Franz Caruso – but a young climber recognized and respected throughout the European cycling scene. Tomorrow will mark exactly ten years since his death and this day represents a moment of shared memory and gratitude towards a family that continues to safeguard his human and sporting values with dignity and love”. In his speech, Mayor Franz Caruso then broadened the reflection to the role of sport as an educational and civil space: “We want Cosenza to be increasingly a city of sport, capable of enhancing competitive experiences as tools for collective growth. In sport we recognize the essential principles of democratic coexistence: freedom, respect for the rules and sense of community”.
Hence, also a reminder of the symbolic value of the initiative: “In the name of Pino Faraca – he underlined – today more than ever we feel the need to reaffirm a message of peace aimed at the entire world. Sport, beyond competition, must continue to be a universal language of dialogue and encounter, especially in a time marked by conflicts and divisions”. In closing, Franz Caruso expressed thanks to those who made the homage to the Cosenza champion possible: “Our gratitude goes to the Faraca family, to Gianni Zicarelli, author of the sculpture, and to Federico Morabito. It is also thanks to this spirit of participation and solidarity that the city manages to promote initiatives that do not burden public resources, but arise from collaboration between citizens and institutions. This is a concrete sign of a lively, welcoming and supportive community”.