Join us for the first annual Fête Ghisallo, a ride of remembrance, advocacy, and celebration.

On this sacred feast day of Madonna del Ghisallo, patroness of bicyclists, we gather to honor those we have lost on the streets of New Orleans and to raise our voices for safer, smarter bicycle infrastructure. This year, our ride is a call to action for Plan Vieux Carré, a vision that dares to reimagine the French Quarter as a beacon of historic districts, where people, not cars, set the rhythm of the streets.

Fittingly, we will meet at the gates of Louis Armstrong Park, where our ancestors invoked the spiritual under the ancient oaks of Congo Square. Arrive early to receive a bicycle blessing from an ordained minister, a moment of grace before we set forth. Then, we ride—winding through the French Quarter and beyond on a 1.5-hour journey, shining light on the urgency of better cycling infrastructure in the heart of our city.

At the helm of our procession, a real-life Madonna del Ghisallo will glide through the streets with us upon a bicycle trailer. Bring your music, your spirit, and your most festive wheels—adorn your bicycle in light, color, and joy. In accordance with the law, all riders must have a white front light and a red rear light. Need a bike? Flambeaux will be renting bicycles for the event—reserve yours here.

Let us ride. Let us remember. Let us reclaim the streets.

📅 Date: Monday, October 13, 2025
🙏 Blessing of the Bicycles: 6:30 PM
🚴 Social Ride: 7:00 PM
📍 Starting & Ending Point: Armstrong Park

Who is Madonna del Ghisallo?

In the rolling embrace of Lombardy, where Lake Como’s waters mirror the heavens, there rises a hill steeped in legend—Madonna del Ghisallo. Its name recalls a tale of peril and grace.

Long ago, Count Ghisallo, a traveler of uncertain fate, found himself beset by bandits on this very hill. With desperation as his guide, he fled toward a modest shrine, where the image of the Virgin Mary stood in quiet vigil. There, beneath her watchful gaze, salvation met him like a morning sun breaking through storm clouds. The bandits fled at the blazing glory of her apparition. Word of this miracle spread, and La Madonna del Ghisallo became the guardian of those who journey—first on foot, then on wheels.

Time, ever the great storyteller, wove new chapters into the hill’s legacy. The relentless ascent became a battleground for the strong-willed, a crucible for cyclists carving their names into history. The Giro di Lombardia claimed it, the Giro d’Italia revered it, and the weary yet triumphant cyclist found solace atop its peak.

It was Father Ermelindo Vigano, a man who saw holiness in the rhythm of pedaling feet, who declared that this Madonna should watch over cyclists as she did over Count Ghisallo. And in 1949, Pope Pius XII made it so. From that moment on, the small chapel at the summit became more than a place of worship—it became a sanctuary of bicyclist.

Inside, relics of the road rest in silent testimony: bicycles once ridden to glory, jerseys still heavy with the sweat of champions, and, most hauntingly, the twisted frame of Fabio Casartelli’s bike—the solemn reminder that not all who ride return. An eternal flame flickers in memory of those who have fallen, its glow mingling with the prayers of those who still push forward.

In the year 2000, a torch was lit in this sacred place and carried all the way to the Vatican, a journey of faith and motion bound together. A decade later, the Museo del Ciclismo opened nearby, a testament to the spirit of those who have climbed, conquered, and, sometimes, been claimed by the road.

At 2,473 feet above sea level, where the Colle del Ghisallo unites myth and motion, past and present ascend as one. There, beneath her watchful gaze, she extends her protective grace to bicyclists across the world.