The Olympic Flame among the wards of the Gaslini pediatric hospital on a motorbike with Vanni Oddera: “we bring hope to children”

The corridors of one of the most important pediatric hospitals in Europe, those of the Giannina Gaslini Institute in Genoa, were the scene of a unique event that brought so much joy and amazement to the little patients hospitalized: the passage of the Olympic Flame of Milan Cortina 2026. A symbolic and powerful stage, because it brought an idea of ​​the future and hope into the treatment rooms. In particular, the Olympic Lantern crossed Hall 16 and the Neurogastro Platform, accompanied by healthcare workers and small patients.

Vanni Oddera and motor therapy

Leading this route was the freestyle motocross rider Vanni Oddera, Gaslini Ambassador and soul of Mototherapy, who made his entrance on a motorcycle, carrying the Lantern among the hospitalized children. The princesses of motor therapy welcomed the little patients in the playroom, giving smiles, gifts and a moment of normality in a context that often does not allow this.

For Vanni Oddera this moment had an even deeper meaning, because it was here that his journey with Mototherapy began, the project with which for years he has been bringing disabled people and children on motorbikes, those hospitalized and suffering from illnesses who otherwise would not be able to experience the thrill of getting on the saddle. In fact, he wrote on social media:

The greatest emotion of my life. Bringing the Olympic Lantern into the Gaslini Hospital in Genoa, right there where in 2013, for the first time in the world, a motorbike entered the pediatric oncology department. It was from that moment, from that place, that everything was born: Mototherapy in the hospital.

The first hospital in Italy where the Olympic Flame enters

President Edoardo Garrone underlined how significant it is to welcome such a strong symbol in a hospital: “Welcoming the Flame is an emotion and a responsibility: it brings hope and a future to our children“. Words that explain why Gaslini was chosen as the first hospital in Italy for an official stage of the Olympic journey, recognizing the role of Gaslini as excellence in child care. Here the Flame becomes a message of trust for those who face a difficult challenge every day.