The story of Marco Pantani is the tale of a serious miscarriage of justice. The film takes place during winter, in a small town on the Adriatic coast, Cesenatico. This is where Marco was born, lived and died; it portrays the small community who lived through his extraordinary “adventure” with him, and who remained close to him right through to the tragic epilogue, unwittingly playing their part in one of the most moving human tragedies in Italian history.
Even today, almost fifteen years after that 14th February 2004, each of them – while unique in the fragility of their own lives – carries in their heart a poignant memory that they are unable to shake off, as though pursued by it: the memory of that adventure and that injustice which affected their lives so profoundly, changing them beyond repair. Every year, during the long winter, it brings to the surface more keenly than ever the sense of remorse and pain at not having saved one of their brothers.
It is this community which, in its own way, has been protecting, telling and re-evoking the Passion of Marco for many years; by meeting them in their daily lives, we look back at a sporting and human parable that reached, moved and shocked fans all over the world.