Italian Government
On August 6, 1916, Enrico Toti fell in combat.
A legendary figure of the Italian Army, a cyclist of the Bersaglieri Corps, and a Gold Medal of Military Valor recipient.
Today, we tell you a story.
It’s the early 1900s. The year is 1911.
You take a bicycle and set off from Rome.
You cross Europe. You reach Russia. Then you return.
Eight thousand kilometers, by bike.
A bike with only one pedal.
And you, with only one leg.
You are an explorer, an inventor, an artist.
Two years later: you set off again.
The goal is even more daring: Africa.
But in Sudan, the British stop you. Too dangerous, they say. Too crazy, they think.
You start pedaling again. You return home.
No GPS. No phone. No energy drink brand will ask you to be their ambassador. No photos on social media (too soon—you’re ahead of your time by at least a century).
You won’t become an influencer.
You will become much more.
Then, the Great War breaks out.
You volunteer. You ask to enlist.
They say no. One leg—impossible.
You try again. Twice more. Two more refusals.
Give up? Why would you?
You take your bike and ride to the front, alone.
The Carabinieri see you arrive. They send you back home.
Give up? Why would you?
So you return again. This time, they let you stay.
Now you are on the front line, wearing the Bersaglieri’s feathered helmet. With your bike, carrying messages through the trenches. With just one pedal.
Alongside your comrades, your friends. You fight.
Like everyone else.
Better than many.
August 6, 1916.
Hill 85, Sablici, above Monfalcone.
The assault begins. You are there.
A bullet hits you.
You move forward.
A second bullet—this time, to the chest.
You get back up.
You grab your crutch.
You throw it at the enemy.
Then comes the third bullet.
The fatal one. It stops your body, but not the legend.
Your legend.
The legend of Enrico Toti.
Learn more about his adventurous life and visit the Historical Museum of the Bersaglieri: his bicycle—with only one pedal—is there. It no longer rides, but still carries a powerful message: determination allows us to face the hardest challenges, take control of our destiny, reach unimaginable goals, and sometimes… enter history.
