Overview
- At a packed service in Padua’s Basilica of Santa Giustina, mourners applauded as Alex Zanardi’s coffin arrived and his handbike stood beside the altar as a central symbol.
- His wife, Daniela, and son, Niccolò, thanked the crowd, and Niccolò shared simple memories of his father smiling while making coffee or kneading pizza dough.
- A priest read a 2020 letter from Pope Francis that praised Zanardi for turning disability into a lesson in humanity.
- Sports leaders and athletes attended the ceremony, and Formula 1 honored him in Miami with a moment of silence and “Ciao Alex” tributes on cars.
- Zanardi raced in Formula 1 in the 1990s, lost both legs in a 2001 crash, then won four Paralympic golds and two silvers in handcycling, later suffering a 2020 handbike crash and spending recent years in care.