Milan’s first Sports Library dedicated to Gianni Mura is born
The first Library of Sport in Milan dedicated to Gianni Mura has been inaugurated in Via Confalonieri 3 in the Isola district, a city space entirely designed to narrate sport as a cultural, social and civil language. A place that was created in the name of the memory of the great journalist, but with an eye toward the future and participation of the city.
There are 2,173 volumes already catalogued and available, a collection born thanks to donations from authors, publishers and citizens and destined to be further enriched over time thanks to the contribution of those who wish to donate books dedicated to sport, its history and values. Citizens, associations and fans will also be able to take an active part in the life of the Library with proposals and initiatives, helping to make it an increasingly lively and participatory space. It is also possible to support the activities through the subscription of the annual membership card costing 10 euros, directly at the headquarters.
The Library will become part of the Milan library system and will be open every Tuesday and Thursday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is designed as a place to be lived every day, where to read, study, meet and discuss sports and social issues. The Gianni Mura Sports Library is built in one of the spaces owned by the municipality allocated through the “Sefémm” program of calls for proposals, activated since 2022 and dedicated to associations and nonprofit organizations. Its birth is part of the journey of Altropallone, the association that for nearly 30 years, including through the award of the same name, has been promoting sports and the game as tools for inclusion, social growth, and combating racism and discrimination.
“This Library is a gift for Milan. We wanted a simple and living space, where sport was not just a result or chronicle but a tale, a memory, a comparison. Keeping Gianni’s memory alive also means preserving his teachings, his curious look, his irony, his attention to people before champions. The best way to remember him is to continue doing what he did, using sport to understand the world,” said Paolo Maggioni, creator of the Gianni Mura Sports Library and host of La Domenica Sportiva.
“We warmly welcome the inauguration of the Sports Library named after the great sports journalist Gianni Mura, a project of high cultural value promoted by the Altropallone Association. Of this reality I would like to emphasize the great ability to use sport as a tool for social and cultural integration, promoting cohesion, youth education and healthy lifestyles through cooperation projects both nationally and internationally. These are central issues in the administrative action of the Lombardy Region. Thanks to initiatives such as Altropallone, which bring people closer to sports and make it a common language between different generations and communities, it is possible to build solid relationships and foster shared development, as also demonstrated by the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics,” added Raffaele Cattaneo, Undersecretary to the Presidency with responsibility for International and European Relations of the Lombardy Region.
The opening of the Altropallone project is a key step in the region’s administrative action.
“The opening of the Sports Library dedicated to Gianni Mura represents an important moment for the cultural life of our city. It is a project that fully recognizes the value of sport as a cultural, social and civil tool, capable of telling the story of our society, uniting people and promoting inclusion and respect. Naming this space after Gianni Mura means paying homage to a great master of journalism, who knew how to narrate sport with depth, passion and a critical gaze, weaving it into the society and culture of our time. This library was born as an open and participatory place, included in the Milan library system, and will be a living space where we can read, study, meet and discuss. I thank the Altropallone association, the donors and all the realities that have contributed to the realization of this project, which enriches the Isola neighborhood and the entire city,” the words of Tommaso Sacchi, Councillor for Culture of the City of Milan.
“Since 2022, the Turin International Book Fair has been promoting the Gianni Mura Sports Literature Prize to enhance sports books and stories, involving students from all over Italy. The Prize complements the programming of the Sala Olimpica and the Fuoriclasse podcasts, bringing fans closer to sports narratives. Being next to the birth of the Gianni Mura Library today is a source of pride and responsibility for us: it means continuing to cultivate a space in which sport becomes storytelling, shared memory and a look at the present through different languages,” concluded Silvio Viale, President of the Turin City of Books Association.
