“La Corsa di una Vita”: A Journey Through Sport, the Legal Profession and Personal Growth

The literary debut of Italian attorney Piergiorgio Galli presented at DVCA Palazzo Cagnola in Milan

Text and photographs by Ian Art Photo

In Milan, within the elegant setting of Palazzo Cagnola – DVCA, located at Via Rovello 18, the presentation of La Corsa di una Vita (The Race of a Lifetime), the debut book by attorney Piergiorgio Galli published by Ealixir Editions, took place on June 10 at 7:00 p.m. The event was moderated by Matteo Basile, journalist for Il Giornale, who guided the audience through the book’s central themes.

The volume opens with a foreword by Michil Costa, entrepreneur and writer who has long been engaged in discussions surrounding sustainability, mountain culture, and the educational value of effort and perseverance. His contribution aligns naturally with the journey recounted by Galli, built around the idea of the marathon as an experience that transcends the purely sporting dimension.

The book’s most distinctive feature lies in its structure: the text contains 42,195 words, matching the exact number of meters in an official marathon. This narrative choice transforms the race into a symbolic measure of human experience, leading readers through a path shaped by discipline, responsibility, and perseverance.

In Galli’s autobiographical account, the marathon becomes a place where one confronts personal limits. Running is not portrayed as a competition against others but as an ongoing dialogue with oneself, where every step and every breath acquires meaning. Alongside sport, music and the legal profession also play important roles, two seemingly distant worlds that ultimately intertwine within a direct and deeply personal narrative.

Particularly significant is the reference to the Paris Marathon. For Galli, it represents the moment when the roles and certainties built over years of professional practice begin to fall away.

“There is no one to convince,” the book explains; what remains is the confrontation with oneself. Running thus becomes an essential test, free from codes and strategies, where endurance, vulnerability, and the determination to continue despite fatigue are constantly measured.

From this experience emerges the message that runs throughout the entire book: courage does not consist of extraordinary gestures, but in the decision to keep moving forward despite exhaustion and indifference. As the author suggests, one must continue “aiming ahead without focusing on the finish line, paying attention instead to one step after another.”

La Corsa di una Vita speaks not only to sports enthusiasts but also to anyone who has faced personal or professional challenges. The finish line described by Piergiorgio Galli is not merely that of a marathon; it is the journey each person undertakes to overcome their own limitations and discover a more authentic sense of self. La Corsa di una Vita. Una piccolissima storia per tutti che è tutto per me

Author: Piergiorgio Galli Publisher: Ealixir Editions Genre: Autobiography / Autobiographical Narrative / Personal Growth Publication Year: 2025 Pages: 171 Format: Paperback, Kindle Language: Italian