Even now, seventy years later, the 1956 Olympics are a presence in Cortina. Evoked in everyday conversations, a fixed point of reference and comparison in stories.
Now and then: first, there is a mountain village that has experienced, since the days of the Belle Époque, a fascinating yet still immature expansion. The dancing parties in the grand hotels, the isolated little houses in “Nordic” style, with surrounding shading fir trees, the legendary evenings of Hemingway in a village intimacy. Then there is the international capital of tourism, the Cortina of The Pink Panther , the Cortina of Clark Gable and the Dolce Vita, of Brigitte Bardot.
A succession of stories. Stories that are being renewed today as we watch with great emotion the Olympic and Paralympic Games of Milan Cortina 2026. Together with Massimo Spampani, a local journalist, a tale that spans from the feats of Toni Sailer and Eugenio Monti, of Giuliana Minuzzo and Carol Heiss to today's champions.
