Turin 2006The Medals

The Piazza

The medal concept was worked upon by Ottaviani International and the TOROC graphic team, headed by Dario Quatrini. The medal is round with an empty space at the centre, representing the Italian piazza. The medal was wrapped up in its ribbon, which, unlike in previous Games, was not sewn to its top.

On the obverse, the graphic elements of the Games, while the reverse featured the pictogram of the sports discipline in which the medal was won. To highlight the three-dimensional characteristics of the medal, its surface was carefully made using full and empty spaces, with shiny and satiny textures.

Italian History

Quatrini, who created the design for the medals, incorporated views, ideas and models from Italian history and its tradition of forms and manufacturing: rings, ancient coins and ornaments. The solution of the circle with the space at the centre links all the basic themes and motifs of the Turin Games and embodies the leitmotiv of Torino 2006: the piazza.

The 2006 Olympic Winter Games medal is also round like the Olympic rings or a symbolic victory ring and, with its open space at its centre, it reveals the place where the heart beats, the symbol of life itself. To highlight the three-dimensional characteristics of the medal, its surface was carefully made using full and empty spaces, with shiny and satiny textures. The medal is only complete, however, when it is hanging geometrically from the athlete’s neck, lying on its chest, circling and revealing the area near its heart and focusing attention on the athlete’s vital energy and human emotions.

Designer: Dario Quatrini

Composition: 1st Place (Gold: 6 gr.; Silver), 2nd Place (Silver), 3rd Place (Bronze)

Diameter: 107mm

Mint: Ottaviani