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With the closing of the Italian Cultural Center on Margaret Street in Springfield, I thought it would be appropriate to write a love letter to the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. I originally started writing a column about Obama Derangement Syndrome even before Monkeygate, but Maureen Dowd of The New York Times beat me to the punch.
News events and commentary travel at the speed of light these days. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a member of the FBI …Full-Blooded Italians.
The 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony featured extensive tributes to Italian culture, history and icons, including artist and polymath Leonardo da Vinci, poet Dante Alighieri and opera composers Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi and Giaochino Rossini. Michelangelo received the silver medal once again, and Donatello got the bronze … appropriately.
Andrea Bocelli sang “Nessun Dorma” (“Let No One Sleep”), an aria by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. This was the same song that was sung by Luciano Pavarotti in his final public appearance at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. Also, in 2006, who could forget the Formula One driver doing donuts in his Ferrari on the stadium floor? Maserati, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Alfa-Romeo must have been red with envy.
Fashion designs by Giorgio Armani were showcased. Prada, Versace, Gucci, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana and Ferragamo wound up on the cutting room floor. Cultural highlights referenced “La Dolce Vita,” the film directed by Federico Fellini and starring Marcelo Mastroianni. Pinocchio was also alluded to. Iconic athletes like Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni took part. Stanley Tucci continued his love affair with Italy and Italian cuisine and culture.
Artists perform during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026.APOne of the highlights of the opening ceremonies was the noted opera singer, Mariah Carey, singing “Volare.” Personally, I was hoping for an appearance by Il Volo, the operatic, international superstars.
Hopefully, they are being saved for the closing ceremonies.
Speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida, the great niece of the famous film actress, Gina Lollobrigida, won Italy’s first medaglio d’oro in the 3,000 meters. During the fifties and sixties, Gina had a highly publicized rivalry with Sophia Loren as the country’s top sex symbol.
If college posters were any indication, Sophia Loren won.
Giorgia Meloni, the conservative Italian prime minister, was there. She received a warm welcome from the crowd. Congratulations to JD Vance for bringing the crowd together in universal condemnation when his image appeared on the Jumbotron. It may have had something to do with the anti-ICE protests going on outside the stadium.
ICE was there to provide security, which is as rich as a good tiramisu. Meloni was preceded several years ago by Silvio Berlusconi, a latter day Machiavelli, who was Trump before Trump, only with a lot more class.
As an aside, Greg Bovino, one former head of the anti-immigration surge in Minneapolis, should be an embarrassment to his Italian ancestors unless they were fascisti. I hope Trump doesn’t get the idea to start deporting third-generation Italians. I am not sure where my papers are.
The unsung hero of these Olympics is the setting itself.
Cortina d’Ampezzo is a famous, upscale ski resort known as the “Queen of the Dolomites” for its stunning scenery, luxury shops and vibrant après-ski scene. It hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics. It is a year-round destination for skiing, hiking and climbing, set within a UNESCO World Heritage site.
A World Heritage Site is a natural or cultural landmark, building, or area recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as having “Outstanding Universal Value” to humanity.
These sites, such as the Pyramids of Egypt or the Great Barrier Reef, are protected under international treaties to preserve them for future generations. The natural scenery is awe-inspiring. It provides an amazing backdrop for the male and female downhill skiers as they embrace gravity. They descend the mountain at speeds approaching 80 miles per hour.
The 2026 Winter Olympics closing ceremony will take place at the historic Arena di Verona. The ancient Roman amphitheater, built around 30 AD, will be transformed into a high-tech stage where history will intersect with the future at an event that combines sport, art and culture in a celebration of Italian beauty. The ceremony will highlight the “Italian spirit” and connect the Games’ final moments with the historic city of Verona.
The city of Verona is the setting for Shakespeare’s plays “Romeo and Juliet,” and “The Two Gentlemen from Verona.”
Every American of Italian heritage, whether we have an Italian Cultural Center or not, should be proud of their ancestry, and the spectacle that is the 2026 Winter Olympics from Milan-Cortina.
Every American should be proud of their history as well, regardless of where they or their ancestors came from.
Let’s celebrate our origins, not demonize them. The U.S. flag is red, white and blue. The Italian flag is red, white, and green. We are not so different. The same is true for peoples from all around the world.
Columnist Paul Chiampa of East Longmeadow writes twice a month.