Ottavio Bottecchia: When Hardship Becomes Legend

Photo: Agence Rol – Bibliothèque nationale de France

There was a man who set out from our region to conquer the world—pedal stroke after pedal stroke—, driven by that silent obstinacy which remains, to this day, the most authentic trait of those who make their home here. In far-off 1924, Ottavio Bottecchia, born in San Martino di Colle Umberto (TV) in 1894, was the first Italian to win the Tour de France, wearing the yellow jersey, incredibly enough, from the very first stage to the last, and the first to repeat this feat the following year.
In his hometown, housed within an old mill-forge, the Ottavio Bottecchia Museum preserves original memorabilia and tells the story of a man who—as he himself once said—did not race for glory or applause, but for something far more tangible, for a higher good: his family. It is a philosophy of life that we ourselves recognize in our own sixty-year history, a history of unrelenting efforts and daily commitment, free of grand declarations, lived out row by row, harvest after harvest, with the same steadfast loyalty to our roots that Bottecchia poured into every pedal stroke. Take some time to get to know him, and afterwards, we look forward to welcoming you at our winery. We promise you: it is the perfect way to continue his story, and our own.