“ Wheel to wheel. Stories of bikes, posters and samples ”(from 26 May to 2 October, in Santa Margherita, the new home of the National Salce Collection Museum). The Veneto Regional Museums Directorate of the Ministry of Culture proposes the great epic of the bicycle as told by the precious heritage posters of the Salce Collection . The posters that Elisabetta Pasqualin selected for this rich exhibition are signed by artists such as Dudovich, Mazza, Malerba, Ballerio, Villa, Alberto Martini, Codognato, Boccasile. That is to say, many of the major protagonists of the history of Italian illustration and art of the past century, from illustrated bikes to those who wrote the recent history of cycling. In fact, there will also be some of the bikes from the Pinarello collection that have led champions to victory in all the great classics of world cycling.

When, a little over two centuries ago, Baron Karl von Drays invented the bicycle - at the time made of wood and without pedals, equipping a first rudimentary model of 1791 by the French count De Sivrac with steering - he certainly did not imagine that his "tool ”Would become the most popular means of transportation on the planet. And even less did Leonardo have to suppose it, who in the Codex Atlanticus - in the year 1490 - sketched something very similar to the bicycle. Certainly neither of them could suppose that the heirs of their prototypes would have had such an important weight in the social history of the world, influencing customs, travel, tourism, the process of women's emancipation, the economy. To stop in the Treviso area, the case of Menon, "Factory of steel velocipedes on commission" and then of small cars, which at the beginning of the 20th century was worth as much as Fiat, marking the beginning of a production which, for Carnielli and Bottecchia, today leads to Pinarello, which in this exhibition aligns an illustrious series of his creations. And it is precisely from the dawn of the twentieth century that the exhibition kicks off.

Antonella Stelitano, who is the historical consultant of the exhibition curated by Elisabetta Pasqualin and edited part of the texts in the catalog, underlines that “The bicycle is part of the cultural heritage of our country. The story of this medium is a tale of heroes who contribute to creating that national identity that is enhanced in the exploits of champions such as Girardengo, Coppi and Bartali. The great stage races, first of all the Giro d'Italia, were a glue that united the country, showing its beauties while telling the stories of the runners. Italians learn geography by reading the names of the places crossed by the race, games for children inspired by the Giro are born. No one escapes the charm of this event, not even important writers such as Buzzatti, Gatto, Pratolini, Campanile and Anna Maria Ortese, who following the Giro d'Italia give us a story that is never just sporting. It is the story of a country on the move ”.

There are two main sections of the exhibition: on the one hand sport and competition, with its protagonists, productions, brands and the exhibition of historical pieces from the Pinarello collection. On the other, the social aspects: women, customs, travel, tourism, in fact.