In the afternoon of July 25, the “In cammino” team reached Mantova, where, at 6 p.m., in the former Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, the event titled “The Fastest Man, the Slowest Animal. Nuvolari and the Turtle in Today’s World” took place, a dialogue-confrontation among personalities from different professional backgrounds around the key pair of words “Speed/Slowness”. The meeting was introduced and coordinated by Tonino Bettanini, Director of GIUBILEO 2025 – No’hma In cammino.

The former Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria was built by Francesco II Gonzaga in 1496 to commemorate his victory against the French troops of Charles VIII in the Battle of Fornovo. It remains a true Renaissance treasure, where the namesake altarpiece painted by Mantegna was placed, stolen in 1797 by Napoleon’s troops and taken to the Louvre.

The first part of the dialogue-confrontation, presented by Adalberto Scemma, a journalist and professor of Sports Literature at the University of Verona, was dedicated to speed in competitive sports and featured some champions from both the past and present, who shared their experiences regarding speed and execution precision in their sports discipline.

At the beginning, institutional greetings were given by Italo Scaietta, President of the Amici di Palazzo Te e dei Musei Mantovani; Giampaolo Benedini, Head of External Relations of the Scuderia Nuvolari Italia; Daniele Pagliari, President of Panathlon Tazio Nuvolari; and Learco Guerra.

Barbara Novellini, Vice President of Confindustria Mantova, bringing greetings from President Fabio Viani, explained: “From a business perspective, I would say that speed is useful and essential in times of discontinuity, when it is necessary to act quickly and make immediate decisions: one cannot hesitate because the opportunity is there and must be seized. We have lived through many situations of discontinuity, think of the Covid pandemic, in the emergency climate in which we found ourselves. We had to have quick thoughts then, make decisions to ensure continuity for our companies despite such a complex moment. Or in generational transitions, when the passing of the baton occurs abruptly, unexpectedly, and unplanned; the relay race is competitive, and therefore one must be fast. On the other hand, I would associate slowness more with values, value scales, and relationships, with the construction of teams, long-term plans, and strategies. These two modes, speed and slowness, go together, since to be fast one must also have solid preparation and values behind them”.

Several sports legends of the past and present, born in Mantova or connected to this city, then took the stage.

From racing driver Bruno Giacomelli to football champion Roberto Boninsegna and sprint cyclist Learco Guerra Jr: three authentic champions. Following them were Giovanni Grazioli, European record holder in the 4×100; Onorio Marocchi, winner of the World Cup in bobsleigh; Simona Parmiggiani, Italian champion in the 100 hurdles; Diego Marani, Italian champion in the 200 meters and 4×100; and young Federico Biancoli, Italian champion 2024 in pole vault.

This first part dedicated to sports closed with a clip—recorded aboard a sailing boat—by Guido Meda, a well-known television personality, Deputy Director of Sky Sport, and commentator for MotoGP.

“For my motorcycle relationships, I am closely connected to the concept of speed – Meda began – In the sport I comment on, MotoGP, the champion who reaches maximum speeds wins: we are talking about 367.5 kilometers per hour right now. Nevertheless, as you can see, I have chosen as a hobby and as a moment for my ‘salvation’ and my ‘psychoanalysis’ a sport [Meda, as mentioned, is aboard a sailing boat, Ed. Note] that is generally slow: there, we talk about 367, here when going fast we talk about twenty kilometers per hour. Let’s say that speed is what pursues us in our professional days, as we aim for achieving results in very short times and speed of execution… But I remember very well Valentino Rossi’s words when he said that speed can become haste, which is why, in his name, all those aspects that require slowness to be elaborated are transformed…”.

The second part of the meeting, dedicated to Speed/Slowness in cultural activities such as music and art, was opened by a clip from musician and jazz composer Dino Betti Van Der Noot.

“Largo, larghetto, adagio, andante, allegro – Betti explained – there are indeed many inclinations left to the instinct of the performer in a musical score, as dictated by the situations in which they find themselves at the moment of execution. There is nothing absolute; however, we move within the precise limits that have been suggested by the composer. In fact, if we look at the choice offered by the indication ‘adagio’, for example, we observe a range that goes from 96 to 120 beats per minute: a significant difference that can lead to completely different performances. Thus, the concept of speed and slowness in music, as in my opinion in every field, is a completely relative topic. A striking example is given by comparisons of performances of the same piece by different conductors. Beethoven’s Eroica conducted by Toscanini lasts just over 45 minutes, whereas with Giulini it lasts about an hour and 5 minutes. Toscanini’s is certainly exhilarating, while Giulini’s reveals the refined details that would otherwise be lost. Which is better? For an audience that does not pay much attention to subtleties, Toscanini’s; for an audience capable of enjoying the music in all its details, Giulini’s”.

It was then time for the intervention of art critic Nicolas Ballario.

“Someone in the previous interventions asked if there is still room for reflective slowness. I deal with art that always carries a problem of comprehensibility because I focus on contemporary art, which brings with it a lot of doubts. It’s the ‘I could have done that too’, the ‘this is not art’: phrases that I must often say are true, but the theme of today’s meeting is fantastic for me because I believe that art, especially contemporary art, can achieve the magic of developing a fast slowness. All art has been contemporary, even if we often read it through the eyes of history… Its role is, in a sense, to make us faster. But it is also very slow in consumption. If one wants to approach contemporary art, which seems so complex, so incomprehensible, one must take time. And that’s also why I fell in love with it: in a world where everything is very fast, everything is at your fingertips on social media, I don’t mind that something needs to be deepened to be truly understood. I would like to quickly show you some works that, at first glance, one might say ‘you’re kidding me’, but which instead carry the weight of a story, a life, perhaps a pain. Here are some images of an artist who recently passed away: Bill Viola. He creates very slow videos of just a few seconds, and in this frame, we see a video where he surprises a series of people he had set up on set with a splash of water. All this unfolds in four or five seconds, but he stretches the time, making those few seconds last an eternity. But what is inside? If one could contextualize, take time, trust in slowness at the expense of speed, many stories could be understood because within these images lies all the meaning of his childhood, when Bill Viola as a boy was on a boat trip with his uncle and fell into the water, not knowing how to swim, and in those few seconds when he was risking death, drowning, he saw that underwater there was a slowed life, slow movements, a different light refracted on the water. He spent his whole life trying to recreate that moment, that ecstasy he felt in those few seconds as a child. In these stretched, long videos, there is the entire meaning of a moment that lasted a few seconds; indeed, his uncle jumped into the water to save him, but for him, it will last a lifetime”.

The second part concluded with an interesting clip by Laura Delfino, a psychologist and CEO of a unique start-up: SbrisolAut, a profit-making company that produces sbrisolona, a typical Mantovan dessert, and employs only autistic individuals to do so.

The third and final part of the meeting featured the intervention of Don Stefano Savoia—Rector of the Co-Cathedral of St. Andrew the Apostle and Director of Cultural Heritage, church building, sacred art, and the Diocesan Museum of Mantova—who brought greetings from Bishop H. E. Monsignor Gianmarco Busca.

“I would like to add just a few elements to what has already been said, which naturally relates to spiritual life. The experience of faith can help us interpret the time we live in: fast/slow are not only linked to actions but also to the time of the soul… In the Bible, in Sacred Scripture, there is talk of time from the first to the last page. Genesis opens with the account of creation marked by seven days: nothing but speed!… God created the universe in seven days. Clearly, this is a symbolic reinterpretation; time must be scanned, and the entire history of creation is re-read in view of the seventh day: the time of rest, of relationship with God. Therefore, we can afford to be fast in production, in races, in everything we want, but then there is the time of rest; otherwise, our existence loses meaning, slips through our fingers… As we move forward, in Sacred Scriptures there is the time that is aligned with the relationship with God. The experience of Abraham is fundamental for all monotheistic religions because Abraham’s life—and thus his time—ties to God through two categories: the covenant and the promise, which completely change the relationship with the divine. Before Abraham, fate, destiny, time was already assigned, and the relationship with the divine consisted of reading destiny… With Abraham, however, God, the divine, ties itself to the fate of man, and the promise is a way to orient time, the future”.

Finally, there followed a presentation video of the magnificent Co-Cathedral Basilica of St. Andrew, commented on by H. E. Monsignor Marco Busca.

The intense day was concluded by Patrizio Bianchi and Livia Pomodoro, who, while greeting and thanking the speakers and the many participants at the conference and meeting in San Benedetto Po and Mantova, set the date for the twelfth stop of “In cammino”.