Giro d’Italia 2023 is at the start: the first stage, Ortona, “home” of the Fantini Group

The start of the Giro d’Italia n. 106, the most prestigious and historically rich cycling stage race on the international stage, is rapidly approaching. Which, as we have previously told, in recent years has always included a “Wine Stage”, that is an arrival in one of the great wine territories: from the Langhe of Barolo and Barbaresco to the Chianti Classico, from Montefalco, the land of Sagrantino, to Franciacorta, from the Romagna of Sangiovese to the Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene Unesco Heritage, from the terraces of Valtellina and its Sforzato to the vineyards of Brunello di Montalcino. This will not be the case for the 2023 edition, which obviously will cross more than one vineyard territory, and it could not be otherwise: there is not a corner of Italy that is not somehow linked to wine and viticulture.
Starting from the first stage, on May 6, with the 18.4 kilometers of individual time trial along the so-called Via Verde della Costa dei Trabocchi, from Fossacesia Marina to Ortona, in Abruzzo, a magnificent cycle path that was created overlooking the sea where the old, now disused railway previously passed. The path is dear to the Fantini group, a company born in Ortona, in 1994, which brings together 12 companies from Southern and Central Italy, for a turnover of 93 million euros (almost all abroad) and 24 million euros in turnover. Valentino Sciotti, the founder, and guide of the Abruzzo-based company, which was acquired in 2020 by the US Platinum Equity, has a visceral passion for cycling. So much so that at the Giro d’Italia n. 106 two teams sponsored by the wine group will participate, namely Israel-Premier Tech from Israel, sponsored by Vini Fantini, and the Belgian Intermarché-Circus-Wanty sponsored by Vini Zabù, one of the Sicilian offshoots of the Abruzzo brand. Both teams will wear specially designed uniforms for the occasion as a tribute to the collaboration with Vini Fantini.
Thus, the first stage of the Giro d’Italia will be, above all, an opportunity for extraordinary visibility and promotion for this part of Abruzzo, which is still little known to the general public, and which with Fantini’s effort will be brought under the spotlights: a true gift to the Costa dei Trabocchi and to that Via Verde, thanks to which, comments Valentino Sciotti, “even we in Abruzzo are rediscovering a unique stretch of coast, dotted with many wonderful little beaches not known because until recently practically inaccessible. The Via Verde is a work that has the potential to be a watershed moment for regional tourism, which is why we wanted it to be seen globally. The Giro d’Italia and the Fossacesia Marina-Ortona stage will give it to it: the race is broadcasted in almost 180 countries, and a time trial stage means more than 4 hours with the cameras lingering always and only on that route and its surroundings. And we are talking about the first fraction, therefore the one that attracts attention the most”.