What Does Valentino Rossi's Mugello Helmet Mean?

I wish I could take credit for having such a deep understanding of Italian culture that the meaning behind Rossi’s Mugello helmet was self-evident, but the credit belongs to Ducati Corse’s PR man, Chris Jonnum. After seeing Alex Brigg’s tweet that featured Rossi’s new helmet design, CJ was kind enough to connect the dots for us on the meaning behind the special Mugello helmet. And let me tell you, as non-Italian, the trail would not have been easy to follow without his help. Get the inside scoop on Rossi’s lid after the jump.

Featured on the top of the helmet is Italian singer, actor, and television host Gianni Morandi. Morandi is something of big deal in the country shaped like a boot, having sold 49 million records worldwide and generally putting light Italian music on the map, so to speak. Circumscribing the photo of Morandi is a ring of flowers, which hail from the city of Sanremo, which CJ tells us is also known as the City of Flowers, since it has been in the business of selling flower year-round since the late 9th century.

Known for the Sanremo Festival, the city hosts one of Italy’s major musical events, and is unsurprisingly characterized by the flowers, which as we have said, the city is also famous for growing. During the 2012 Sanremo Festival, Gianni Morandi was ordering around his work crew and serendipitously coined the now famous motto “restiamo uniti” (also seen on the helmet), which literally translates into “let’s stick together” in Italian. While this is where CJ leaves us to conclude the meaning of the helmet as it relates to Valentino Rossi, we think it speaks pretty loudly for itself.

With Rossi talking very favorably this week about his meeting with Audi’s executives, it seems increasingly likely that the nine-time World Champion will stay on with Ducati Corse for at least another season, despite all the trouble he and his team have had with the GP11 & GP12 race bikes. The bigger question now is whom will be his teammate, Cal or Nicky. For that, only time will tell.