ROME. Apr 3: The Gazzetta Dello Sport, the Pink-paged newspaper that no sports-crazy Italian would be seen without, celebrated Its 100th birthday today with a bumper 124-page centenary edition, reports Reuter.

The Gazzetta. the oldest sports daily in the world and popularly nicknamed "La Rosea” (the pink one), is an institution in Italy where it Is the best selling and most profitable of three sports papers.

As frequent a sight in the nation's bars as a foaming cappuccino and pungent tobacco smoke, the paper makes Europe's other major sports newspaper L'Equipe of France seem a youngster. That paper turned 50 last February.

Today's Gazzetta, with a goodwill message from Pope John Paul and the headline "Gazzettissima 100." hit the news stands at the usual price of 1.400 lire (90 cents). A commemorative Italian postage stamp was also issued.

“The Gazzetta pf our grand-fatbers and fathers has today become not Just a part of Italy's heritage but the world’s." declared editor Candido Cannavo on the front page.

“If I should have to choose the symbol of these celebratory days. I would single out a letter received from Canada saying: T am more than 90 and have been reading your paper for 75 years. I can't do without it," he said.

Gigi Riva, a former Italian soccer international, said the paper took him back to his childhood and memories of his father discussion cycle races with his friends. "He died when I was a boy but he left

me a pile of old Gazzettas." he said.

"It has been a part of my family life "

Monday’s edition, the biggest of the week after Surt-day’s soccer, had a print run of 825.301 copies.

The morning after Italy beat Germany 3-1 in the gripping 1982 World Cup soccer final in Spain, some 1,409.403 copies were sold with a one-word

headline: "Fantastlco."

That figure was beaten in 1989 when AC Milan won the European Cup and 1.486.110 copies were sold.

Founded three days before the first modern Olympics in Athens, the Gazzetta started out on green-coloured paper as the fusion of "the cyclist" and "the tricycle.."

By 1900 it had turned pink and soon became acUve in organising some of the nations' leading events.

In 1909 it devised the "giro DTtalla.” the tour of Italy whose leader still wears the pink Jersey adopted in 1931 in an early and hlghly-successful marketing ploy.

This year's edition of the race starts in Athens to celebrate Jointly the centenary of the start of the modern Olympic Games on April 6, 1986.

During the first world war. the paper, which still retains its original masthead, was handed out free to soldiers fighting on the country's northern front with Austria.

Unusually for a naUon convulsed by scandal and party politics ahead of the April 21 election, the newspaper rarely ventures into the political arena.

President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro said last month that the paper represented the beautiful faces of Italy, like those of the women skiers ... an Italy one can still believe in.

"It is 100 years of history, of humanity Not of inhumanity, as usually happens In traditional history dominated by wars, clashes and often mourn Ing ... I remember the Gazzetta as an Indispensable school friend," he said.