Ayrton Senna honorary citizen of Siculiana: museum dedicated to the F1 champion's Sicilian roots

Ayrton Sennaconsidered one of the greatest pilots of all time, and one of the most iconic and representative figures of the Formula 1 and motor racing in general, also had Sicilian origins. To strengthen this link and celebrate his extraordinary sporting legacy, the municipality of Siculiana (Agrigento) decided to award him honorary citizenship post mortem, and also to dedicate a museum to him. This recognition comes thirty years after Senna's tragic death caused by an accident at the Tamburello corner during the 7th lap of the Gran Premio di Imola of 1994while the driver was leading the race.

The municipality's initiative: to honour the roots of Siculiana's emigrants

The proposal to confer Siculiana's honorary citizenship on Ayrton Senna was made official with a council resolution, the act of conferment accompanied by the official motivation: "To Ayrton Senna, a champion of unquestionable Siculian origins who was able, through sport, to promote the values of courage, determination and solidarity. Universally recognised as a generous man who made gestures of friendship towards people in difficulty, a positive example for the new generations'..

The first citizen of Siculiana, Giuseppe Zambito commented on this tribute to the Brazilian driver: "We have reconstructed the Siculian origins of Ayrton Senna, a fascinating research that we are ready to tell the world about. So many enthusiasts have contacted me in the last few hours to find out more, we are ready to welcome them in the coming months in Siculiana with a project that we will share with the cultural and tourist operators in our area'.. The municipal administration's initiative, aimed at recognising and honouring the roots of Siculiana's emigrants, who left at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century in search of better life opportunities, also led to several meetings with the driver's family members and with the Senna Foundation, who expressed their appreciation.

Thanks to thorough research work by journalists Anna Restivo and Giacinto Pipitoneit was possible to reconstruct the family tree and trace the descendants of the Formula 1 champion's family of origin, still living in Siculiana.

Ayrton Senna: the Sicilian origins of a champion

On 8 July 1876, Giovanna Maria Magro, great-grandmother of Ayrton Senna and daughter of Giovanni Magro and Angela Curabba, was born in Siculiana. The family, which also included her children Serafina, Antonino and Carmela, lived in poverty. Like many others in search of new opportunities, Giovanni Magro decided to move to Brazil, where the policy of President José Carvalho de Melo Moniz Freire encouraged immigration, promoting the occupation of farmland and satisfying the strong demand for labour for coffee plantations.

The Magro family landed in Vitoria on 6 December 1894. After a period of quarantine in the House of Immigrants in Pedra d'Agua, they continued their journey to Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, an important coffee-growing centre. On 13 December 1896, two years after their arrival in Brazil, 20-year-old Giovanna Maria married Luigi Senna, anche lui immigrato proveniente dalla Campania.

From this union Ayrton's grandfather Joao Senna was born on 28 August 1906. Joao married Marcellina Di Santoro and on 1 December 1935 their daughter Neyde Joanna Senna was born in the Bom Retiro district of São Paulo. Neyde married Milton Da Silva in 1956 and together they became the parents of Ayrton Senna, who chose to use his mother's surname as a driver. Marcellina, his maternal grandmother, lived long enough to see Ayrton triumph in the Formula One World Championship in 1988 with McLaren.

Ayrton's family, who actively collaborated with the Siculiana municipality in the reconstruction of the champion's personal history, will be welcomed by the mayor to receive posthumous honorary citizenship, completing a circle that had opened in the 19th century with the emigration of his ancestors.

The museum project dedicated to Ayrton Senna

Senna's bond with his Sicilian origins will be further celebrated through the creation of a museum in Siculiana. This exhibition space will focus on the narrative linking the champion's sensibility to his Sicilian roots, a place where the strong religiousness of the island and its wild and melancholic nature come together. The museum will focus on the mystical component of Sicily, offering a complete vision of the man as well as the champion.

The initiatives proposed by the municipality of Siculiana will strengthen the emotional bond between the deceased champion and his Italian fans, while at the same time offering a tourist development opportunity to remember one of the most beloved drivers in the history of Formula 1.