How The 1956 Winter Olympics Changed "Everything" In Cortina, Italy

With more than 100 years of Winter Olympics history, no city or ski resort has ever hosted the grand international sporting event more than 70 years apart.

That will all change on February 6th, 2026, as the Olympic cauldron is lit at Milan’s San Siro Stadium, igniting the opening of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

For the scenic ski resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo, nestled in the jagged and awe-inspiring Italian Dolomites, it will mark a return to its fabled past, with fond but fleeting memories of the 1956 Winter Olympics. They were 11 memorable days that both influenced and transformed the culture of not only the charming Alpine town and ski tourism in the Dolomites, but also the greater Olympic movement.

Cortina’s first Winter Games were inspiring, memorable, cold, and game-changing, as 822 athletes representing 32 countries competed for medals on ice and snow, in 24 events. 

A tangible ski legacy from the 1956 Games, which unfolded in the “Queen of the Dolomites” resort, is the continued use of all four Olympic ski racing trails: the Olympia delle Tofane (photo above), Canalone, Col Druscie, and the since-renamed Pista Vitelli.

In February, all women’s Olympic alpine races will be contested on the famed Olympia delle Tofane piste, as Mikaela Shiffrin, Lindsey Vonn, Italian fan favorite Sofia Goggia, and perhaps Federica Brignone, who is battling injuries on the comeback trail, seek to increase their caches of Olympic medals.

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Battista “Tita” Pordon, a former Italian ski racer who made headlines for his horrific training crash at the Squaw Valley 1960 Winter Games, vividly recalls Cortina’s 1956 Olympics, having attended events as a 15-year-old local resident.

“I remember Toni Sailer winning three gold medals, I remember my grandfather took me to see ski jumping, and we walked there, and I remember that before the Olympics there was no snow here, and then all of a sudden it came,” the 85-year-old Pordon fondly reminisces.

“It was a beautiful Olympics because everything was right there in Cortina,” said the lifelong resident of neighboring San Vito di Cadore, who also has family in Reno, Nevada. “There is no place with mountains like this in the world; it’s a special place. 

“It was two weeks of big festivities, not just for Cortina, but for Italy. They did a good job – it was something special.”

Pordon believes the 1956 Winter Games forever changed the occasionally forgotten ski resort, an amphitheater of majesty in the shadow of the 3,244-meter Tofane Massif.

“Cortina and the spectacular valley are one of the most beautiful places in the world, but the Olympics really gave a big boost to Cortina, the Dolomites, and the local region,” Pordon noted. 

“At that time, it wasn’t like everyone travels now. The little train to Cortina back then was like a jewel. It opened up the skiing world, tourist industry, and everything else here.

“The Olympics brought prosperity to this beautiful place, and for the people here it was like a dream come true.”

The 93-year-old Cortina resident, Bruno Colli, recalls carrying the Olympic Flame in his hometown 70 years ago. His honor came on January 25, 1956, one day before the opening ceremony at the then-open-air Olympic Ice Stadium. Bruno’s enduring memories seem almost as bright as if they occurred yesterday.

“It was a really, really cold winter— it was minus 24 degrees the day of the opening ceremony,” Colli said. “I was really honored to carry the torch and felt the responsibility not to drop it and keep the flame burning.

“There were a lot of journalists and photographers taking photos of me, but because of the extreme cold, the cameras became frozen, so there is no picture of me carrying the torch,” Colli explained, noting his only regret.

Colli’s place in Cortina’s rich history has inspired his grandson Giacomo, a rising star on Italy’s national curling team. Bruno emphasized the significant impact that the 1956 Games had not only on his own life, but also on Cortina as a coveted international skiing destination.

“The Olympics really changed Cortina with new slopes and new people coming here after the Games,” Colli said. “Before the Olympics, people here were quite poor, but afterwards, the general well-being of the people became much better.

“I became a full-time ski instructor in 1960—a job that I held for 55 years. Ski instructors were making good money back then, and it really changed my life.”

Stay tuned in here at POWDER for more stories and coverage leading up to the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.