Bologna, August 23, 2026 – We have lost a legend because his life could be contained in an encyclopedia. Ennio Mattarelli, who passed away this morning at 98 years old, was able to enjoy an intense and happy life. The affection of his wife Fiorina, who passed away in 2003, and of his three daughters, Silvia and the twins, Monica and Manuela. Ennio was the dean of Olympic gold medals because on August 5 he celebrated his 98th birthday. He did so shedding a tear of emotion because, during the Rai live broadcast of clay pigeon shooting – his sport – Sabatino Durante had recalled this record.
The gold medals
Olympic gold in 1964, participation in the Games four years later without luck. And two world championships won in 1961 and 1969. A life as a technical commissioner, because shooting – besides the beautiful family – was his life. Together with the family business, which produces clay pigeon shooting machines. If you think Ennio’s existence can be condensed into a few lines, you are mistaken.
The company
To his credit something like 62 patents. The Mexico 68 rifle is his invention. In the family business, Ennio worked until January. He watched, scrutinized, with his hands crossed behind his back and his posture slightly bent and gave advice. Because Ennio was a forge of ideas. And the protagonist of a thousand anecdotes.
The daughters’ story
He wins gold in Tokyo, in 1964, as an athlete, he is no longer very young, he is 36 years old. He suffers from headaches. And when the migraine attacks him he can’t even shoot. How disabling it can be, the daughters Silvia, Monica and Manuela tell.
“In 1964 at the European Championship in Bologna he was struck by one of his headaches. He hadn’t even realized he had reached the final. He took the way home. He took a painkiller to relieve the pain. But meanwhile they called him back to the shooting range, for the final.”
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Ennio, who knew how to handle the rifle, wins that European Championship. Joys and sorrows, with the rifle. Once he was testing one. It was the early seventies: the cartridge exploded improperly. The result? He lost two fingers, stayed hospitalized for a long time. But he didn’t give up, because Ennio was made of special stuff. One true regret in a life full of happy moments.
The medal theft
In 1999, taking advantage of his absence from home, thieves broke into his house. If they had stolen money and jewelry, perhaps he would have limited himself to a complaint. The thieves took away his Tokyo gold medal. Ennio got in touch with Il Carlino. He offered a reward to the thieves just to get that Olympic gold back. No luck. He had to settle for a copy, almost identical, sent by the IOC. Patents and clay pigeon shooting machines. But the long vision as when, on the eve of 2012, he told Il Carlino that that girl, called Jessica Rossi, could win gold in clay pigeon shooting. Who would ever dare to contradict someone like Ennio, brilliant and as good as bread? If the 62 patents are a kind of unique case, Ennio is capable of playing the ace.
The title of sorcerer
The title of sorcerer, in Botswana, where he occasionally took refuge, given to him by a real sorcerer. “Dad – Silvia, Monica and Manuela still say – finds a sorcerer on the street who, convinced he has a curse, is letting himself die.” Ennio is not a magician, but he understands that there is an infection in progress. He finds some antibiotics, administers them to the sorcerer who, more dead than alive, recovers. And from that moment on, he worships our Ennio as a true sorcerer.
Smiling, calm, brilliant. And satisfied with the sports results and the family business. The three daughters work at Mattarelli, joined by Viola (Silvia’s daughter), the granddaughter. A well-established company, because when Ennio puts his mind to it he never misses a shot. Like the 198/200 in Tokyo. On Friday, the last farewell in Zola Predosa, to Ennio. Goodbye ‘giant friend’.
