Maurizio Zanolla, better known as “Manolo,” one of Italy’s greatest climbers and a pioneer of free climbing worldwide, was featured at the Ovan Sports Center in Vivaro and San Quirino.
A character who made history in modern climbing, revolutionizing the world of sport climbing with his innovative approach and dedicating his life to the mountains and the exploration of new routes, earning the respect of the international community for his skill, determination and philosophy.
“Unmatched athlete, modest in his everyday life,” commented Deputy Mayor Alessandro Ferluga. An exciting experience: special thanks to Claudio Vettor, Manolo’s personal friend.”
A guest in Monica Vettor’s cellar, he presented his autobiography “Eravamo immortali,” telling his story to an attentive audience.
The book tells of a boy who grew up in an environment that saw mountains only as a source of danger and who one day, almost by accident, discovered the allure of rock. “I lived in an isolated bubble, not knowing what was outside my world. I never suffered from loneliness because I had always been like that. I had climbed trees, but never a wall,” he confided.
Thus, the noise of the factory and an alienating everyday life was replaced by the silence of the peaks. “I was born in the mountains, but no one knew the mountains, no one frequented them”.
His passion for climbing began as a self-taught climber, exploring the rocks near his home. “It’s strange that I started climbing. For me it was a real adventure. I had three masters in my life,” Zanolla said.
In the early 1970s, Manolo took up classical climbing, climbing some of the most famous walls in the Dolomites. Soon, he understood that his true calling was to try to push the physical and mental limits of climbing.
“You marked an era,” said journalist Paolo Michelutti, moderator of the presentation.
Indeed, in the 1980s, Manolo fully embraced free climbing, a discipline that allows climbers to climb using only their hands and feet, without technical aids such as pitons or stirrups, except for protection in case of a fall. “Mountaineers look at mountains differently-I didn’t use pitons, but they gave me a kind of moral comfort, almost safety,” the author revealed.
This new approach to climbing required not only extraordinary physical strength, but also high mental concentration and a deep connection with the mountain. “Mountains have always felt fragile to me. I still find it exciting today to still touch stone.”
For him, climbing is an art form, a continuous dialogue between man and nature. The presence of water, within the autobiography, is central: “I risked drowning several times. I remember the trout, my grandfather and the sound of the stream,” Manolo recounted.
Indeed, he has always favored the more introspective and personal aspect of climbing. In his interviews and writings, he often stresses the importance of individual freedom and the search for inner balance.
“In the story, I gathered only the emotions,” the athlete confirmed.
The evening left a deep mark in the hearts of those who were lucky enough to take part in it, because it turned into an intimate journey, during which Manolo’s words resonated among those present like sweet and melancholic music.
For Claudio Vettor, Manolo’s longtime friend, it was an opportunity to relive memories of shared adventures and to listen, once again, to that voice that speaks with love and respect of the mountains, but also of life, courage and loneliness. His friend’s extraordinary career was intertwined with his own, with humility and authenticity, qualities that have always united them.
Monica Vettor’s warmth and welcome allowed Manolo to express himself freely, to tell his story with sincerity and to share those emotions that have accompanied him throughout his life. And, just like a climbing route that opens upward, the meeting left everyone with a feeling of inner enrichment, as if the silence of the peaks and the magic of the rocks had reached them through the words of a master who, while always pushing himself further, never forgot his roots.