Cortina d’Ampezzo was originally scheduled to host the 1944 Winter Olympics, but these were cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II. The Dolomite resort’s wait to host the Games ended in 1956, giving Italy the chance to demonstrate its organisational skills before the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

A popular ski resort

Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 was the first Winter Olympics to be broadcast live and in black and white to a multinational audience in eight European countries. This coverage reinforced the resort’s reputation as a premier tourist destination and helped it attract ever-increasing numbers of visitors. About 6,000 people live here in the off-season, but today the population rises to 50,000 in the winter months. These visitors are attracted by Cortina’s thousand-year history and excellent skiing conditions. Known as the “Queen of the Dolomites,” Cortina d’Ampezzo and its slopes are part of the Dolomiti Superski, one of the largest ski areas in the world with 1,200 kilometers of slopes. These include the Olympia delle Tofane, Canalone and Col Druscie slopes, which hosted races at the 1956 Games and continue to attract competitive and recreational skiers today.

First-class facilities

By hosting the VII Olympic Winter Games, Cortina d’Ampezzo has facilities that will continue to attract major sporting competitions. It hosted the 2021 FIS Alpine World Championships, the FIS Ski and Snowboard World Cup races and the 2010 Men’s World Curling Championships and will co-host the 2026 Winter Olympics with Milan.

Better road connections

Accessibility to Cortina d’Ampezzo was greatly improved in the years leading up to the 7th Winter Olympics with the expansion of the city’s road links and infrastructure. Although improvements to the existing road network were already planned, the hosting of the Games accelerated the pace of their implementation, with the Italian government investing almost 2 billion lire (equivalent to around 50 million euros today) in them. The roads built, repaired and widened then still serve the region and were improved before Cortina hosted the 2021 FIS Alpine World Championships.

Innovations in sports

The 7th Winter Olympics were also notable for several technological developments, including significant advances in timekeeping. The results of the cross-country skiing events were accurate to one-hundredth of a second, setting a timekeeping standard that international sports federations hoped to adopt for all future major international competitions. The alpine skiing events used starting gates for the first time. The official start time was automatically triggered by a visual signal, similar to a traffic light, and a buzzer sounded to alert the athlete. Starting gates have been used at every Winter Olympic Games since then.

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