Outside Magazine

It’s a Wednesday evening in March, and the coronavirus pandemic is ravaging Italy. The viewers of Striscia la Notizia, a popular satirical news program, are shown “100% Brumotti,” a segment in which Vittorio Brumotti, a noted trick cyclist, roams Italy on his bike combating various social ills. 

Tonight’s segment is a little different. It opens with Brumotti, 40, in the attic bedroom of his parents’ home in the seaside region of Liguria, where most citizens, like the rest of the country, are under emergency lockdown. He greets viewers and introduces us to his girlfriend, Annachiara Zoppas, who lies on a couch reading Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl. He jumps on his bike, does a few stunts on the balcony, then rolls down the interior stairs. He navigates a narrow turn, descends more stairs, and emerges in the kitchen, where his mother, Elisabetta, is cooking. He bunny-hops onto the kitchen table, his mom smiling indulgently.