Zanardi Parma
Updated 10.17.2012
Parma, Italy
“Zanardi was born in 1906 to a reasonably well-off family from Parma. As a young man, he
travelled quite often to France with his family. It was during these visits that he got hooked on
cycling, noting how much further ahead the French were compared to Italy. He started racing
and built his first frame in his late teens (some time in the early 20’s).”
“By the mid-50’s, his ever-suffering wife suggested that he give up the plumbing trade and
return full-time to bicycles. Zanardi however thought that the bicycle business was suffering death throes, so he only stayed involved on the edges. He built solely for his own pleasure, building perhaps a few dozen frames per year for local Parma amateurs. He built everything his own way and would not listen to anybody.”
“The local Parma cycling hotshot, Vittorio Adorni also went to him for his bikes, racing a Zanardi bike,both while riding as an amateur, as well as a pro for the Philco, Cynar and Salvarani teams. It was quite interesting to hear that the relationship with Adorni was broken off when Zanardi suggested to Adorni that he should help another Parmesan rider, Ottavio Marchesi, rejoin the Salvarani team after he was
dropped for poor results. Zanardi felt that Marchesi was a far stronger and talented rider and that it would be in Adorni’s best interest to keep him on the team. A ‘professional’ framebuilder would never have dared to say such a thing to an established star, but Zanardi truly looked at his frame building activities as a hobby and a means of technical and artistic expression. He also found it to be a way forhim to stay involved in the sport that he loved.”
