Bartolomeo Aimo

Bartolomeo Aimo, sometimes written Bartolomeo Aymo, was an Italian professional road bicycle racer, born at Virle Piemonte on 24 September 1889 and died in Turin on 1 December 1970 at the age of 81. He finished on the podium of the Giro d'Italia four times, in 1921, 1922, 1923 and 1928, and on the podium of the Tour de France twice, in 1925 and 1926, but never won a grand tour. He is also known as the inspiration for a character in Ernest Hemingway's novel A Farewell to Arms. Hemingway served as an ambulance driver on the Italian front in the First World War and had a detailed knowledge of cycling; the fictional Aimo dies as a young soldier, while the real Aimo lived a long life.