So that's how it went... a journey with the mountain alongside. Many of our readers already know Francesco Mancini. Even if you don't know him, he certainly knows you... and if he doesn't know you, he'll soon come and get to know you, just as he came and got to know me.
Francesco was one of my most devoted readers... he used to write to thank me for what I wrote, because it drew him in and spurred him on even more to go to the mountains.
Then one day Francesco wanted to meet me. We could never manage to create an occasion to go to the mountains together. What better solution than to come and see me in person?
Francesco never turns up empty-handed... a bottle of wine to seal the start of our friendship.
We talked about mountains. Francesco was full of questions... his inquisitive manner left me completely wrong-footed. I was one of those who, on the website, sang and played his own tune all by himself. He, on the other hand, wanted to weave ties, relationships, friendships.
Over time Francesco stayed on the edges of my life until he became a full member of the “Club 2000 committee”. A thoroughly deserved title for all the effort he had poured into organising the members' events and get-togethers.
In fact, nobody can deny it, Francesco Mancini brought together more people than anyone had ever managed before him.
Organisational skill, tenacity, the will to do and to innovate: Francesco built, piece by piece, the occasions for the members of the Club 2000m to meet.
Unfortunately, though, along with the role of Newsletter Manager came the first problems. Then a few members began spreading ill feeling, jealous of his role, jealous of his ability to bring people together. Some complained that his way of writing, of being present, was too invasive. Then again, he was the only one who had volunteered... a polemic that was somehow... sterile.
The creeping discontent went round for months, for years, and I could feel that Francesco was suffering from it. The suffering of someone who, though he had the wings to fly high, couldn't fly because he was tied to the ground by heavy counterweights... Italian-style counterweights...
That's how the EsplorandoX project was born. Half seriously, half jokingly, I suggested to Francesco that we build him a personal website... he didn't say no...
Almost a year went by building his website.
- A dream – Francesco tells me – a dream come true... the chance to put my memories online and give shape to my passions for sport, the mountains, my friends.
With the work almost finished we talk it over and I ask him: - So? What was it like, this experience of building a website?
I know very well that it was very hard for him. Francesco had warned me in advance that he had no particular skills with computers. I had reassured him, asking him to trust me. Let's take small steps. There are no impossible things, only solutions to be found.
And that's what we did.
- Building the website meant reliving the most beautiful and important moments of my life. Looking again at photos of friends, putting my passions back in order.
- That's exactly it... - I tell him, building a website is a journey of becoming aware of your own self... - it's like looking in a mirror and saying... “here, this is me”. It's therapeutic and it does you good.
And while the discontent among the Club2000m members grew, so did the content of the website. I found it astonishing how many people Francesco had managed to involve, get to know and meet over the course of his mountain life. I myself am living proof that he sought me out specifically...
That's his way of doing things. While I started from the web to meet new friends, he started from the real world. He'd pick up the phone and call you... - I want to meet you... - he'd say...
The website is complete, Francesco now has his own website where he can at last write as much as he likes about his passion for the mountains but above all... for mountain people.
In building the site he didn't follow any of the “canonical” parameters I had suggested to him... Francesco has his own opinion, his own point of view, a vision of how he wants to pass on the enthusiasm and passion for hiking, the mountains, mountain biking and sport more generally.
And what I discovered (I who build websites for businesses and individuals) was that stepping outside the canons is often not so bad after all... on the contrary, it's exactly what we need; it's people like Francesco who add something special, something new or never seen before.
We looked at mountain photos, put together videos into the small hours, we played with colours, looked for an identity in the EsplorandoX logo. Francesco wanted Monte Velino in his logo, a mountain that has left its mark on him many times over the course of his life.
An experience that opened up my brain, put it in the washing machine and hung it out in the sun to dry...
And even though, working in a hurry, we also made a few big cock-ups... we held out all the way to the summit.
That's why I want to congratulate Francesco, because building this website was for him like climbing a mountain (and anyway he... when all's said and done... doesn't like computers... how can I blame him...). He has pulled off his undertaking once again.
I also want to thank him for giving me the chance to develop this project for him, and I hope this is a new beginning for him because, as they say... when one door closes... a gate opens...
Keep going Francesco, we all need you!
Visit the website of Francesco Mancini - EsplorandoX - Mountains - Mountain Bike - Sport