Franky the Parrot Who Flew Alongside Michele Scarponi Dies in Warehouse Fire

Franky, the large parrot that became a fixture on training rides around Filottrano, was killed when a blaze swept through a factory/warehouse tied to a scrap-metal disposal company on the night of Feb. 25–26, 2026, the Michele Scarponi Foundation confirmed in an Instagram message. The foundation’s post named Giacomo as the man who introduced Franky to the group and said his warehouse was devastated; multiple reports note no other casualties were reported.

Accounts differ on the precise municipal location of the destroyed premises. Some reports identify Osimo as the site of the scrap-metal factory, while the Michele Scarponi Foundation’s Instagram excerpt reproduced by outlets said, "she died in a factory fire in Filottrano last night." Other coverage described the blaze as at an industrial site in the province of Ancona. The provincial overlap between Osimo and Filottrano leaves the exact municipality unresolved pending confirmation from local authorities and the fire service.

The foundation’s Instagram post also offered a portrait of Franky’s role with Scarponi and the charity. "Franky would lean on Michele's shoulders while he trained. Or she would follow him a short distance, flying with her large wings outstretched. Franky accompanied Michele and other cyclists," the foundation wrote, and added, "Everyone was happy to have her close, colourful, and free. She was important to us, so much so that we dedicated the Vola Franky project and our Christmas and Easter initiatives, like the Franky Egg, to her." The post closed with a consolatory image: "Today we say goodbye to Franky for the last time: she died in a factory fire in Filottrano last night. It's a loss that saddens us deeply, deeply. Now they will fly together again, she and Michele."

Franky’s public profile grew from viral photos and videos of the bird perching on Michele Scarponi’s helmet and back, nibbling at the helmet and drifting behind riders in the slipstream as they trained around Filottrano. Scarponi was killed in a training accident on April 22, 2017, when a van struck him near his home; he was 37. After Scarponi’s death, Franky appeared in road-safety campaigns and in Michele Scarponi Foundation graphics, and locals continued to spot the bird near the crash-site memorial where flowers and a traffic-sign perch were recorded in archive images.

Descriptions of Franky’s colours and species vary across reports. Cyclingflash described the bird as a blue-yellow macaw, while Domestique called it "a flash of green and red wings." The parrot’s name also appears spelled as Franky and as Frankie in some accounts. These discrepancies—species, colouring, exact municipal location of the fire, the scrap-metal company’s name and ownership, and the cause of the blaze—remain unresolved in public reports and await confirmation from the Michele Scarponi Foundation, Giacomo, and local emergency authorities.

The foundation’s tribute and the repeated refrain "Now they will fly together again" have been echoed across social channels and in a Reddit r/peloton thread that recalled the nine years since Scarponi’s death. Franky’s loss marks the end of a familiar presence on the roads around Filottrano and in the foundation’s Vola Franky initiatives, and leaves questions about the fire and the destroyed warehouse to be answered by investigators.