A line that follows the hairpin bends, quickens like a heartbeat and takes shape in stone. Battito dello Stelvio was born from the meeting of art, mountains and cycling, bringing a new landmark to the Stelvio Pass that tells the story and reflects the identity of one of the Alps’ most iconic places.
Created in Apuan marble by artist Marco Alberti
, the sculpture was donated to the Municipality of Bormio to mark the Bicentenary of the Stelvio Road (1825–2025).
A tadpole, the Stelvio hairpins and the heartbeat of the climb
The shape of Battito dello Stelvio recalls a stylised tadpole. Seen from above, its tail echoes the sequence of the famous hairpin bends along the Stelvio Road while also resembling the trace of a heartbeat: one that quickens during the climb, marks the effort and accompanies the emotion of finally reaching the pass.
The reference also extends to the Giro d’Italia, which has a long-standing connection with the history of the Stelvio. In Italian cycling jargon, Giro riders are traditionally known as girini, literally “tadpoles”. In 2025, a version of the sculpture created as the Bicentenary Special Award was presented to Isaac Del Toro, wearer of the Maglia Rosa and winner of the San Michele all’Adige–Bormio stage.
The tadpole is also a symbol of metamorphosis. This amphibian can be observed undergoing its transformation in the small glacial lakes around the Stelvio Pass, a natural process that becomes a metaphor for a mountain landscape that is constantly changing.
Through its material and form, the sculpture creates a dialogue between the geological history of the mountains, human endeavour, traditional craftsmanship, movement and the relationship between those who travel through these places and the landscape that welcomes them.
A work of art to experience
Battito dello Stelvio is not designed simply to be looked at.
A small platform at the base of the tail invites visitors to become part of the composition. By stepping onto it and raising their arms towards the sky, they symbolically complete the movement of the sculpture, creating a visual connection between marble, the human body and the surrounding landscape.
The visitor thus becomes part of the artwork, through a gesture that presents the mountains not simply as a place to cross or conquer, but as a space for connection, culture, memory and transformation.
“Battito”: the poem accompanying the artwork
The project is also accompanied by an original Italian poem entitled “Battito”, which translates into words some of the images and sensations embodied by the sculpture: the shortness of breath during the climb, the curves of the Stelvio, stone, wind, glaciers and the silence of high altitude.
Here, the mountains become a kind of universal dialect: a language made up of silence, distance and anticipation, capable of turning every summit into a place of culture, encounter and memory even before it becomes a goal to be reached.
The project’s artistic direction is by Marco Alberti, with the involvement of the Associazione Culturale Case Carpano + Rubbia.
The inauguration at the Stelvio Pass
Battito dello Stelvio will be inaugurated on Saturday, 12 September 2026 at 11:30 am at the Stelvio Pass, in the presence of sculptor Marco Alberti.
The event will offer an opportunity to discover the sculpture up close and learn more about the creative process behind it, in the very landscape that inspired its forms and meanings.
A shared project
Battito dello Stelvio was made possible thanks to the support of institutions, associations, businesses, professionals and individuals who believed in the project.
Special thanks go to the Municipality of Bormio, Municipality of Massa, Municipality of Carrara, Municipality of Seravezza, Province of Massa-Carrara, ANAS, Bormio Tourism, Stelvio National Park, Apuan Alps Regional Park, Italian National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps, Academy of Fine Arts of Carrara and the Associazione Culturale Case Carpano + Rubbia.
Valuable support was also provided by Fratelli Soldati Luca e Mauro, Fratelli Giorgini S.r.l., Fratelli Nardi Piero e Giuliano, Turba Cava Roma S.r.l., Viva IT S.r.l., Trasporti Marmo Perlina S.r.l., Galzenati Traspecial, Vetrugno Marmi di Vetrugno Roberto & C. S.a.s. and Mario Sanguanini S.n.c.
Finally, heartfelt thanks go to Antonio Antonioli and to everyone who contributed their time, availability and commitment to bringing the project to life.
A new landmark in the Stelvio landscape
For two hundred years, the Stelvio Road has accompanied travellers on their way up to the pass, along a sequence of hairpin bends that has become part of the collective image of the mountains.
Battito dello Stelvio adds a new landmark to this story: a work that brings together marble, landscape, cycling and transformation, inviting those who reach the pass to stop, take a closer look and, for a moment, become part of it.
Discover Battito dello Stelvio and its dialogue with one of the most iconic landscapes in the Alps.
