05 December 2025 - Celebrations have taken place in Rome to mark the arrival of the Olympic flame in Italy ahead of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 torch relay.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella lit the Olympic Torch Relay celebration cauldron in Piazza del Quirinale. He was joined by International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and the moment was marked by a spectacular flypast from the Frecce Tricolori aerobatic team. The celebration cauldron remained alight for public viewing throughout the day.
The Olympic flame travelled to Italy in a lantern following the handover ceremony in Greece on Thursday. It arrived in Rome on Thursday evening and spent the night at the Quirinale Palace, the main official residence of the President of the Italian Republic.
The torch relay will start on Saturday morning (6 Dec) at Rome's Stadio dei Marmi. The flame will travel 12,000 kilometres over 63 days across Italy, pass through more than 300 municipalities and feature celebrations in 60 cities, reach all 110 Italian provinces, and light up UNESCO sites along the route.
More than 10,000 torchbearers from all walks of life will take part in the relay, including figures from sectors of sports, culture and film.
The flame will see Christmas in Naples, New Year in Bari, and return to Cortina d'Ampezzo on January 26, 2026, the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Winter Games opening ceremony.
The relay will conclude at Milan's San Siro Stadium on 6 February at the Opening Ceremony of Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. The 25th edition of the Winter Olympic Games run from 6-22 February.
