Flame for 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics makes arrival in host nation Italy

The flame for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics landed in Rome on Thursday, following an earlier handover in Athens.

A small lantern held the flame during its journey aboard an ITA Airways flight between the Greek and Italian capitals.

Tennis star Jasmine Paolini, a women's doubles gold medalist from the 2024 Paris Summer Games, joined Local Organizing Committee chief Giovanni Malago in carrying the flame off the plane.

"I feel honored. It's an incredible emotion," Paolini said in brief remarks before the lantern was driven away to the presidential complex.

A 63-day torch relay covering 12,000 kilometers will start in Rome on Saturday, and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces before reaching the San Siro Stadium for the opening ceremony on February 6.

This is the first time in nearly 20 years – since the 2006 Turin Winter Games – that Italy has hosted the flame.

On Friday, the flame will be used to light a cauldron at the Quirinale Palace where Italy President Sergio Mattarella resides, with International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry expected to be in attendance.

The torch relay – featuring 10,001 torchbearers – will get underway one day later from the statue-lined Stadio dei Marmi.

Earlier on Thursday, the flame was formally handed to Italian organizers at the all-marble Panathenaic Stadium in central Athens, where the first modern Olympics took place nearly 130 years ago.

"To stand here in this historic stadium provides an inspiring reminder of the honor we have been granted and the precious treasure we will carry home with us," Malago said before receiving the flame.