Travelers of the new edition of Beijing Express are ready to embark. And among the couples who will leave for the filming of the Sky Original show produced by Banijay Italia, arriving on Sky and streaming on Now in 2023, there is also a couple very dear to the Palermitans. These are Totò Schillaci and Barbara Lombardo. Leading the protagonists of this year’s adventure – which will develop between India, Malaysian Borneo and Cambodia – are back Costantino Della Gherardesca, and Enzo Miccio.
Who are Totò Schillaci and Barbara Lombardo
Totò Schillaci, hero of the magical nights of Italy ’90, where he wins the prestigious title of world top scorer, is now 58 years old and enjoys family life without giving up keeping fit, playing sports with friends. His football career, from the Sicily where he was born, led him, among others, to obtain a second place in the Golden Ball standings, to wear prestigious jerseys such as those of Juventus and Inter, and even to play in Japan. where he is still loved out of all proportion. Born in Palermo, Totò is a man who has traveled the world thanks to football and sport, but never in an “extreme” way as with the Beijing Express. He defines himself as a shy man who has had to adapt to living in the spotlight.
Barbara Lombardo, also from Palermo, with a past as a model and a participation in the regional Miss Italy, today is a dental technician. With Totò it was not love at first sight, it took 10 years of acquaintance before she trusted him, and today they have been married for 10 years. They live in a country house in Palermo and run their own sports center. As a child they called her “wild” for her attitude to her adventure, but so far she has always only made organized trips. She does not understand football and, according to her husband, this is good.
The other couples in the cast
In the cast also Giorgia Soleri and Federippi, Alessandra Demichelis and Lara Picardi, Joe Bastianich and Andrea Belfiore, Dario and Caterina Vergassola, Martina Colombari and Achille Costacurta, Federica Pellegrini and Matteo Giunta, Carolina Stramare and Barbara Prezja and finally Maria Rosa Petolicchio and Andrea Di Piero.
The route of the planned trip
This season “Beijing Express” arrives in the heart of Asia, in three territories rich in ancient cultures and adventurous scenarios: India, Malaysian Borneo and Cambodia. They are places where oriental spirituality is intertwined with wild nature, where the jungle coexists with the ruins of past kingdoms and the cities of the present, where men have developed unique uses and ways of life to lead their existence.
The travelers’ route will start in India, from the urban jungle of Mumbai, the city with the highest population density in the world, and then cross the heart of the “sub-continent”, revealing its thousand contrasts, between sacred rites, spices, colors and singular customs of daily life, up to the splendid scenery of the Kerala backwaters; he will then dive into the wild nature of Malaysian Borneo, among animal species unique in the world and ancient cultures still made today of mysterious rituals; finally it will reach Cambodia, where between the majesty of the capital Phnom Penh, lying along the Mekong river, and the internal territories dotted with villages and forests with a magical and suspended atmosphere, it will end in the fantastic scenery of Angkor, an archaeological site famous all over the world , an ideal place to represent that mixture of wild nature, oriental charm and ancient and modern cultures that will accompany the entire journey of this edition.
Along this fascinating and spectacular route, this season’s adrenaline-filled race will unfold, a race that promises to be as always full of amazement for discovery and joy for solidarity (the final prize is donated to support one of the NGOs that operate in the countries visited during the edition), all supported together by the very strong interactions between human beings, distant from each other in culture and habits but able to collaborate and unite even in the most extreme conditions.
Magic nights in India, Totò Schillaci and his wife among the protagonists of the Beijing Express