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  7. Eighth week: from La Grande Motte to Finale Ligure

Eighth week: from La Grande Motte to Finale Ligure

The stages, day by day

Giorno
Day

Data
Date

Partenza
Departure

Arrivo
Arrival

Km

46

06/06/2022

La Grande-Motte

Saint Martin de Crau 

73

47

07/06/2022

Saint Martin de Crau

Marsiglia

73

48

08/06/2022

Marsiglia

Tolone

65

49

09/06/2022

Tolone

Les Issambres

83

50

10/06/2022

Les Issambres

Nizza

79

51

11/06/2022

Nizza

Sanremo

57

52

12/06/2022

Sanremo

Finale Ligure

73

Among all the markings left behind by the students of Padua, is a book that describes their pilgrimage

Born to a family of Parisian printers, Charles Estienne studied in Padua as a companion of Michel de L’Hospital and Miles Perrot.  The publication of his Guide des chemins de France became the first guidebook of France and mentions the same cities, rivers and streets that we have seen throughout this journey.

The salt flats that cast over the city of Aigues-Mortes appear to us like a mirage from afar. In the thirteenth century, King of France Louis IX conceived of the walled city which was later built during the reign of his son Philip III. In 1482, perhaps as the ship’s doctor, Girolamo Ramusio embarked upon a vessel filled with spices for Venice. It was here that the songbook sang of his yearning for Caterina de Narni, the daughter of Gattamelata the famous captain of the Venetian army. Girolamo had graduated from Padua with a doctorate in artibus six years earlier, the same year in which his beloved died.

As we pass through Saint-Gilles, a destination for medieval pilgrims, we witness the French Romanesque facade of its church and the damage it endured during the French Revolution. From here we cross the Parc naturel régional de Camargue where the green and grey hues of the lagoon touch the horizon.

Crossing a bridge over the Rhone, we arrive in Arles (UNESCO) and circle the amphitheatre that is crowned by two medieval towers. As we leave behind these Romanesque monuments we head to Marseille where the mathematician Ernesto Padova and the physicist Nicola Dallaporta studied.

The landscape between the cities of Marseille and Toulon is covered by jagged and rocky coasts, islands and gullies of the Parc National des Calanques and the sinkholes, chasms and underground rivers of the Parc Naturel régional de la Saint-Baume. Toulon, with its grandiose arsenal, was the birthplace of Jacques-Hyacinthe Serry, a well-known Thomist theologian who taught at the University of Padua for many years and whose well documented works remained mostly unpublished.

On the fifth day, we pass the ancient salt marshes of Hyères, the Parc national de Port-Cros, and the Roman ruins in Fréjus.  We cross Mont Vinaigre before descending towards the sea to Cannes. We parade along the seafront on the way to Antibes, a city that offers a full view of the star-shaped Fort Carré whose four arrow-head shaped bastions line the wall of green shrubbery. We leave this coastal city only to reach Nice (UNESCO) with its famous Promenade des Anglais.

On the sixth day we cross the French border arriving in Ventimiglia and Sanremo, on the seventh and last day, passing between tunnels that celebrate the history of cycling and borders of oleanders, we reach Finale Ligure the destination of the eighth and last stage of our long journey.

THE TEAM OF THE WEEK

While I have been teaching international law for 25 years, my aspirations have always been to teach others about cycling. When I heard about the relay, I immediately signed up. A bike is a perfect vehicle to retrace and bring forth the spirit and experience travels of scholars from the oldest universities in Europe.

Tarcisio Gazzini

Tarcisio Gazzini

While a naturalist by vocation and a systems engineer by profession, mountains are my passion. When the proposal to participate in the Scholares Vagantes relay arrived, I instinctively signed up. Two years must have passed since the start of the pandemic, and the idea of this initiative seemed like an excellent idea but unlikely to happen. Today, we find ourselves as Vagantes, participating in what was once only a promise. Today, I am a part of this beautiful adventure. I share the same roads, history, and wonder as other European scholars, trailing 800 years of research behind us as we reach for the knowledge yet to come.
Giacomin Federico

Federico Giacomin

Over the last few years, I have become passionate about cycling and cycle tourism. I love the sense of adventure, freedom and independence of cycling. When I heard about this initiative, I didn’t hesitate, and I applied immediately. I’m super excited to be part of this team and to be able to represent the University of Padua in such an important year that celebrates its history.
Elena Gazzea

Elena Gazzea

I wanted to participate in this event because I love sports. And because I am proud to be a part of a sporting event that represents UniPD as we travel Europe in celebration of the eight hundredth anniversary of our university. I am grateful and will do my best to support the cyclists these days as we travel hundreds of km as part of the technical staff.
Giuliano Mellai

Giuliano Mellai

Main sponsor

Eurointerim

Sponsor tecnici

De Marchi Rudy project Elastic interface