10 Fun Facts About Milan and Cortina, the Host Cities of the 2026 Olympics

More than 3,500 athletes will head to northern Italy this February to take part in the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, which are being split between the slopes of Cortina d’Ampezzo and the city of Milan.

Milan, a financial and fashion hub in northern Italy, will host ice sports such as figure skating and hockey, while Cortina, a resort town in an alpine valley in the Italian Dolomites, will host skiing, snowboarding, and other mountain events.

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It will be the first time the Winter Olympics have officially been co-hosted by multiple cities. Milan and Cortina won the bid in 2019, beating a joint bid from Stockholm and Åre in Sweden.

The games will officially start on February 6 and run until February 22.

Here are some fun facts about this year’s hosts.

Milan is a fashion capital of the world

Milan is known as the birthplace of many couture brands, including Prada, Armani, and Versace. It is known as the fashion capital of Italy and one of the most fashion-forward cities in the world.

Its reputation dates back to the Middle Ages and early Renaissance, when the city became known as a place to purchase luxury goods. It became known for its silk processing and eventually for costly items such as lace and jewelry. Still, Milan’s reputation, historians say, was for many years overshadowed by Florence’s artistry.

Over time, Milan became known as a hub for more affordable wares than other Italian cities, with its “ready-to-wear” fashion at its heart.

The famed Milan Fashion Week, which draws in brands and supermodels from around the world, sealed Milan’s fate as a fashion hub that people flock to for its ingenuity, its shopping district, and its culture.

This is not the first time Cortina hosted the Olympics

Milan has never hosted the Olympics, but Cortina d’Ampezzo has, back in 1956. Cortina, known as “Queen of the Dolomites,” is a premier ski resort in northern Italy, about 250 miles from Milan.

Those games saw the debut of the Soviet Union team, which won more medals than any other nation. The Olympic Oath was also sworn by a female athlete for the first time—Italian alpine skier Giuliana Chenal-Minuzzo.

Milan hosts Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper

Famed artist Leonardo da Vinci left an indelible mark on Milan during his decades there in the 15th century, after he rose to prominence in Florence.

Milan is home to the Leonardo da Vinci Museum, but his most famous work is present in the monastery Santa Maria delle Grazie: The Last Supper.

The famous mural depicts the final meal Jesus shared with his apostles before his crucifixion, and was commissioned in 1495 by the Duke of Milan for the monastery. The painting is still on display. The work is so coveted, however, that only a few people are allowed in the room to view it at a time, and visits are strictly limited to 15 minutes.

Milan is home to the famous Duomo Cathedral

The Duomo Cathedral in Milan is a world-famous tourist and artistic spot in the city, and its construction spans six centuries. Construction likely began in 1386, and the final details were completed in 1965.

“The construction site became a lively space for the exchange of the most diverse ideas, experiences and skills from workers coming from all over the continent, which made the Duomo a crossroads of peoples and cultures and the most European among Gothic cathedrals,” the Duomo’s website reads.

A famous legend surrounding the construction of the Duomo tells of the aristocrat Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who supposedly dreamed that the Devil commanded him to build the church with “diabolical images” or lose his soul. The aristocrat obliged and ordered the construction of the Duomo.

Milan was founded by the Gauls and known by a different name

Milan was founded in 600 B.C. by the Gauls and eventually became the capital of the Insubres, a Celtic tribe. Then the city was known by the Celtic name of Medhelanon. Milan was eventually conquered in 222 B.C. by the Roman Empire, which Latinized the name to Mediolanum, which translates to “in the middle of a plain.” Under the empire, the city garnered increasing prestige politically and artistically.

Milan is the birthplace of several famed Italian foods

Beyond art and fashion, Milan is also known as the birthplace of several classic Italian dishes. For one, the famous golden-hued, saffron-infused Risotto alla Milanese is beloved by both locals and visitors.

The city is also known for the founding of the famed Italian sweet bread, pannetone. Although the panettone mixes traditions from across Italy, the pastry was first mentioned in a manuscript from the 1470s, written by a preceptor in Milan’s House of Sforza, according to the Smithsonian.

Several famous movies have been filmed at Cortina d’Ampezzo

The beautiful Dolomite slopes have captured the attention of moviegoers for years, as several famous films have used the mountains around Cortina d’Ampezzo as a backdrop.

These films include For Your Eyes Only (1981), in which James Bond visits the Olympic stadium there. The film includes a famous chase scene and climax in which Bond is pursued on a motorbike on the Cortina ski slopes.

The romantic comedy The Pink Panther (1963) was also partially shot in Cortina, as was A Place for Lovers (1968), starring a 27-year-old Faye Dunaway.

Cortina is a part of the largest ski network with a single pass in the world

The Cortina resort alone has around 75 miles of groomed slopes, but it lies within the greater Dolomiti Superski network of 12 distinct ski resorts, 450 lifts, and 750 miles of slopes. The network is the largest ski area in the world accessible by a single pass.

The first Olympic Games Planned For Cortina were canceled

Cortina d’Ampezzo was chosen to host the Winter Olympic Games before 1956, but the 1944 Games planned for the town, as well as the Summer Olympics in London, were canceled because of World War II.

This was the second consecutive Olympics canceled due to wartime conflict, as the 1940 Games were also canceled after the conflict escalated in 1939. The 1940 games were originally to be held in Tokyo, Japan. After the Second Sino–Japanese War, the government withdrew its bid to host the games, citing the need to conserve wartime resources. The IOC eventually reassigned the Games to Helsinki, Finland, though the Finnish government was eventually forced to cancel the event after the Soviet Union invaded their country in 1939.

These will be the most geographically widespread Olympic Games ever

These Olympic Games will be held across Northern Italy, across hundreds of miles. Although many events will take place in the host cities of Milan and Cortina, there will also be events in other mountain areas, including Livigno—a ski resort in the Italian Alps—and Bormio, as well as in the Fiemme Valley. The closing ceremony will take place in a 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheater in Verona.