Then they burst in… Tomba, Vezzali and Jovanotti
At the Turin Book Fair, a resounding crowd and stadium-like chants greeted "La Luce nell'ombra," written with his daughter Valentina. "Jova Giro" also makes a stop in Turin: it chronicles Lorenzo Cherubini's career as he approaches sixty. Valentina's Foil and Mother Enrica's Sword. And the King of the Snows takes us once again to the top of the San Pellegrino Pass in the Dolomites: his "longest Salom" is arousing curiosity.
With its International Book Fair, aristocratic Turin is slowly becoming a hub for former athletes who have become icons of their respective disciplines. It kicked off on Thursday, May 15, 2026, with Roberto Baggio and will continue with Valentina Vezzali and Alberto Tomba. Soccer, fencing, and skiing: the capital of Sabaudia encompasses all three sports, which, thanks to Roberto, Valentina, and Alberto, have brought Italy to a dimension that soccer fans can now only mourn, while those of blades and snow continue to swell their hearts.
We have a special connection to Baggio, and especially to his number 10 jersey, worn in the 1994 World Cup in the United States—with its ups and downs and the drama of the missed penalty in Pasadena—because it represents a moment in life that we all experience sooner or later. We fall and are reborn. The Vichian cycle is the spiral within each of us that leads to internal rehabilitation on a higher plane.
At the Book Fair, which is the magic moment of Italian publishing, far above the hybrid formula invented in Milan, Divin Ponytail's appearance was even greeted with stadium chants. People of all ages were present, demonstrating that when there's substance in the man who takes the stage, even young people are willing to listen to the teachings of the most experienced.
The Salone's Sala Oro deserved all that and more. Some were wearing Juventus jerseys, others were bustling around in the blue jersey of the national team. Perhaps the same will happen when Turin welcomes Jovanotti, not so much for his passion for cycling, but rather for the eagerly awaited story of an ever-rising career that will be reinvigorated in 2026 by the "Jova Giro," the musical tour that Lorenzo Cherubini intends to characterize with pedal-powered journeys from one city to another as he approaches his sixtieth birthday with indomitable verve, despite some crises involving cycling.
Who knows if Tomba will be able to match the success of Baggio, who presented "La Luce nell'ombra," co-written with Valentina, the daughter who unleashed his ancestral mistrust of social media. The first TikTok reel of Roberto dribbling went viral: not even Valentina expected it to be so huge.
After all, Baggio has always been familiar with the ball. "I sat at the table to eat and held the ball in my hand. Being away from the ball was considered a waste of time. And if it rained or I couldn't be outside, I'd dribble a tennis ball in the hallway at home..." And there was applause.
It was an afternoon well spent also, or perhaps above all, because Divin Codino gave the impression of wanting to tell his story in depth, but something must have been kept aside, perhaps for the next publication.
Fragility and resurrection. "The missed penalty? When I can't sleep quickly, my thoughts return to it." And then the embrace of Buddhism. The tears that escaped control when he spoke of his father. The depth of thought in explaining his reinvigorated relationship with his daughter. And the closing line that makes the book shine: "I hope it's useful to someone who is called upon to overcome some difficulty." In life as in sport, we might add.
After such a performance, we doubt Tomba and Vezzali can reach the top of the list of emotions, even though Tomba, chauffeured around a Dolomite stage of the Giro d'Italia that crossed the San Pellegrino Pass, gave us the impression of always being able to push beyond contingent limits. How wonderful it would be if "The Longest Slalom" enlightened people as much as Baggio's "The Light." In 2026, cold-weather sports would end up adding a pearl to what we've been gifted with Federica Brignone, Arianna Fontana, Francesca Lollobrigida, and Sofia Goggia.
Having not gathered any rumors or previews about Tomba's new "Slalom," we can't wait to read that little volume so… trumpeted by his publishing house.
Valentina Vezzali, for her part, has always been a respected inspiration for emulation. It happened to her when she fought—yes, fought!—with the foil in the World Cup and at the Olympics. It also happened to her off the stage in everyday life, even within the Olympic Committee, and even intermittently when she was called to government. It will happen to her during the session on "Lines of Sport in the Constitution," a topic that is sparking a certain amount of interest in Turin. We expect to see her as combative as a moderator, just as she portrayed herself years earlier in the "Queen of Foil."
Valentina is tough. Not as tough as her mother, Enrica Beneventi, who fought tooth and nail to defend her daughter in the most unfavorable circumstances for the family. We remember them both as guests at the 2000 Giro d'Italia when, on the occasion of the Giro's start from Rome/Vatican, the Jubilee edition saw the caravan reach Pope John Paul II for a special audience orchestrated by Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe.
Valentina and her mother were guests of the Giro because of the girl's excellent relationship with the Famiglia della Rosea, aka La Gazzetta dello Sport. Both completed the team received by the Holy Father, who already appeared in dire straits, yet he would be leaving for Fatima the next day and would live another five years anyway.
That day, the Pope was about to reveal to the world the secrets of the Third Mystery of Fatima, which had been particularly troubled at the turn of the 20th century. Valentina and Mamma were there, in the front row, adoring the Holy Father, now eighty years old and already clearly ill and suffering in every gesture.
