Olindo Bitetti was born in Caserta on May 6 1886. He has always been considered one of the founders of SS Lazio, even though this would have been difficult since at that time he was only 13 years old. According to Lazio Wiki, he was present at a swimming event on December 26 1902 and they claim that it was probable that he joined in 1903.
Bitetti was the first Lazio Regional Committee Football President in 1909 and in 1912 he was war correspondent in the Balkan War. During this time, he was elected vice president of the Lazio Sports Sector. He fought in the first world war and became second lieutenant. He was the club’s regent briefly in 1915 together with Gerardo Branca when President Giorgio Guglielmi was ill. He was a fundamental figure in the history of Lazio. He was promote for the creation of a football pitch for the club, he founded Circolo Canottieri Lazio and was first president, and, together with another four partners, one of the people who raised money to restructure the Campo della Rondinella where Lazio used to play. In Lazio he was very active: he founded the athletics section, was ad interim Football President in January-April 1938 and was president of Lazio in 1959. He was also president of the Italian Swimming Federation from 1937-40.
Bitetti was also fundamental in avoiding the merge with other clubs to become AS Roma. When Italo Foschi started his “negotiation” for the formation of a single club in Rome, Bitetti understood what the real plan was. Foschi ordered that Fortitudo, Alba and Lazio should merge into a new club that would be called Associazione Sportiva Roma and bear the colours of the city, red and yellow. The players would come from the first two teams while Lazio would supply the stadium (Campo della Rondinella) and disappear. Bitetti asked General Giorgio Vaccaro, vice president and prominent member of the fascist party, for a hand. “Lazio has been a Moral Body by Royal Decree since 1921 and has a history, it cannot disappear. If we need to create a single club there is no problem, but it has to be called Lazio, the colours have to be white and light blue and the stadium must be that of the Rondinella”. This was obviously not going to be possible, but General Vaccaro was able to avoid Lazio being included in the new club. Roman, founded in 1901, took Lazio’s place.
The good thing was that Foschi was only interested in the Stadium. Alba too had no intention of joining the new club but they had the best team, so it was impossible for them to refuse.
In justifying the refusal, General Giorgio Vaccaro made the famous proclamation: “Lazio is different. Lazio does not come from, Lazio is. Lazio was born first and the fans came later. For the others there were already fans and a club was created for them to support”.
Bitetti was an exemplary person, a true believer in the values that are behind the creation of SS Lazio, and for this we owe him immense gratitude.
He died in Rome on May 22, 1973.
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