Moves in Rome to rename Paralympic centre in honour of Alex Zanardi

Virginia Raggi, former mayor of Rome and Movimento 5 Stelle councillor, and Carla Canale, a councillor for the Civica Raggi list, have jointly submitted a motion to dedicate the city's Paralympic preparation centre to the former Formula One driver and Paralympic champion who died on Friday aged 59. The two councillors described the initiative as an act of profound emotion, stating in a joint note that Zanardi had been a powerful example of strength and courage, and that his life had demonstrated that it was possible to rise again after devastating setbacks and to rediscover joy. Initial support from city The renaming proposal immediately found initial support from the city's sports councillor Alessandro Onorato, who said the excellent idea was worth being pursued. Hailing Zanardi as a hero, a legend, one of the strongest examples of resilience our country has ever seen, Onorato said: Heroes don't die: they are eternal, and it's right to assess how we can remember him in Rome too. He pledged to discuss the renaming process with the president of the Italian Paralympic Committee, Marco Giunio De Sanctis, and Rome's mayor Roberto Gualtieri. Centro di Preparazione Paralimpica The centre in question was inaugurated in the EUR district in 2017 and was conceived as an integrated sports facility promoting athletic practice for both disabled and non-disabled participants, with an emphasis on inclusion and a shared passion for sport among young people and enthusiasts. In arguing for the dedication, Raggi and Canale invoked one of Zanardi's own maxims - that life is always worth living, and that sport offers extraordinary possibilities for improving one's daily existence and recovering motivation - as an expression of the very spirit in which the centre was founded. Funeral in Padua The proposal comes as Italy prepares to bid farewell to Zanardi whose funeral is being held on Tuesday at the Basilica of Santa Giustina in Padua. The president of the Veneto region, Alberto Stefani, proclaimed a day of regional mourning to coincide with the funeral and ordered all regional offices to fly the Veneto flag at half-mast as a mark of condolence and solidarity with the champion's family. Civic mourning has also been declared in Noventa Padovana, where Zanardi lived with his wife Daniela and son Niccolò, and in Bologna, his birthplace, where flags are also at half-mast. A hugely popular figure in Italy, Zanardi gained widespread respect for reinventing himself after having both legs amputated following a horrific racing-car crash in 2001. He went on to become one of Italy's most celebrated Paralympic athletes, winning multiple gold medals in both handcycling and paracycling. In 2020 he suffered another serious road accident during a handcycling event, which left him in a fragile condition and kept him largely out of public life. Photo credit: Alextype / Shutterstock.com