The journey of the Olympic flame from Rome to Milan begins in a highly symbolic location – at Stadio dei Marmi, surrounded by marble statues – and will end at the legendary San Siro, which will host the opening ceremony of the Milano–Cortina 2026 Games.

Olympic flame journey

The cauldron for the Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Games was first lit on Saturday, 6 December, at Stadio dei Marmi in Rome, inaugurating a 63‑day journey of around 12,000 kilometres across Italy. The route will conclude with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron in Milan on 6 February, officially opening the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

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The Journey of the Flame is designed to be more than a classic torch relay – it is meant as a tribute to the country’s history, art and sporting identity, starting from the capital. The Rome leg will carry the flame from Stadio dei Marmi towards the Vatican, through Largo Argentina and the gasometer area, then past St Peter’s Square and Castel Sant’Angelo, before finishing at Piazza del Popolo on a route of more than 30 kilometres.

© Grzegorz Kaliciak

Stadio dei Marmi – a marble gateway to the Games

Stadio dei Marmi, part of the Foro Italico complex at the foot of Monte Mario, was built as a training venue for the then Fascist Academy of Physical Education, today the headquarters of CONI. Designed by Enrico Del Debbio, the venue was constructed between 1928 and 1932 and opened in 1932, on the 10th anniversary of the March on Rome, as a manifesto of the fusion of sport, monumental architecture and ideology.

The stadium’s hallmark is a ring of sixty 4‑metre‑high statues of athletes carved from white Carrara marble, surrounding the track like an ancient gallery. Over time, however, the venue moved beyond its original propagandistic context: it hosted some of the field hockey qualifiers during the 1960 Rome Olympics and the opening ceremony of the 2009 World Aquatics Championships.

© Grzegorz Kaliciak

San Siro – Olympic stage and unresolved dispute

At the other end of the Olympic journey stands San Siro, which is scheduled to host the Milano–Cortina 2026 opening ceremony on 6 February 2026. Still formally shared by AC Milan and Inter, the stadium remains a central hub for sport in the city, generating revenue that finances a significant share of grassroots sporting activity in Milan.

At the same time, a heated debate over its future is ongoing: after the city authorities approved the sale of land for a new joint stadium for the two clubs, questions arose over what will happen to the Meazza after the Games. Public debate features strong opposition to the idea of an expensive facelift just for the ceremony, followed by a quick demolition, and city councillors stress that decisions on the stadium – as a property of historic and strategic value – must remain in the hands of democratic city institutions, rather than solely in those of the companies that control both clubs.