Zum Zeri–Passo dei Due Santi

Zum Zeri–Passo dei Due Santi is the ski resort in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines where a giant slalom accident gave Duccio Chilleri his lasting reputation as a bringer of bad luck. The race linked a specific place, a dangerous fog, and Duccio’s prediction in a single episode whose meaning outlasted the competition itself.

Setting and Competition

The event took place during an interzonal qualifying race. Duccio, then competing in the youth categories, finished the first heat second in his category, behind Tavella, a champion from Modena. The weather was difficult: strong wind and fog led the jury to consider canceling the race. When the wind eased, the organizers nevertheless proceeded with the second heat, although visibility had worsened.

The Second Heat

As Duccio waited to start, his father, who coached him, warmed his legs and urged him to attack the course and beat Tavella. At the starting gate, with the track obscured, Duccio said, "So he falls, and he also hurts himself." Duccio then completed the run in the fastest time. Tavella started immediately afterward, but the dense fog prevented people from seeing exactly how his accident happened. Officials found him injured on the course; he survived, and the accident became the most serious in the resort’s history.

Reputation and Narrative Significance

The accident was recalled for many seasons alongside Duccio’s words before the start. As he entered adolescence, the coincidence abruptly established his reputation as a jinx. That reputation was accepted without much inquiry: the story notes that no one investigated how the rumor began, or considered the possible meanings of his childhood nickname, Blizzard, and the name he later acquired, the Unnameable. The resort thus remains attached in the narrative not only to a race, but to the moment when an unexplained coincidence began to define Duccio in other people’s eyes.