In July 2024, we accomplished something we had dreamed of for years
We got on our bicycles and set off for the French Alps. Not for a race. Not to prove anything. But to retrace the legendary climbs that our father Alfredo and our uncle Germano tackled back in 1949
At the time, they were two young Venetian bakers with limited resources and remarkable determination. They crossed France and Switzerland on roads that were largely unpaved, conquering legendary mountain passes such as the Col du Galibier, Alpe d’Huez, Izoard, Col de Vars and Col de la Bonnette.
Seventy-five years later, we decided to do the same.
Three stages, 410 kilometres.
We set off from Chambéry and arrived in Barcelonnette.
Three stages.
410 kilometres.
6,857 metres of elevation gain.
The numbers matter, but they are not the heart of the story.
We wore the jersey of Pedale Veneziano, the same cycling club as our fathers. Every climb was a way of imagining what they must have felt in 1949: effort, excitement, fear and freedom.
It was not a nostalgic journey. It was a silent dialogue with those who came before us.
Bread and bicycles.
Someone might wonder what all this has to do with our work.
It has everything to do with it.
Making bread, like climbing an Alpine pass, is a matter of consistency.
Early mornings.
Repetition.
Discipline.
Endurance.
Our family has been in this trade since 1890. Today, we operate five locations, serve thousands of customers every day, and maintain 100% artisanal production. Each generation has carried the work forward with the same spirit required to tackle a long climb: without shortcuts.
A legacy that lives on
Reaching the top of the Galibier was not a sporting achievement. It was a moment of gratitude.
To our father.
To our uncle.
To those who built, brick by brick, the story of the Rizzo family in Venice.
The cycling journey through the French Alps was not a challenge against time. It was a promise: to continue carrying forward what we have inherited.
With the same determination.
With the same respect for tradition.
With the same love for our craft.
And perhaps, seventy-five years from now, someone will set off once again.
