Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956: Olympic Winter Games add lustre to the Queen of the Dolomites
Cortina d’Ampezzo owes its status as a first-rate winter sports tourist destination and host of major sporting events in no small part to the VII Olympic Winter Games, the first Olympic Games to be staged in Italy.
Cortina d’Ampezzo had initially been awarded the 1944 Olympic Winter Games, which were cancelled due to the outbreak of World War Two. The Dolomite resort’s wait to stage the Games ended in 1956, giving Italy the chance to prove its organisational capabilities ahead of the Olympic Games Rome 1960.
A popular ski resort
Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 was the first Olympic Winter Games to be broadcast live, in black and white, to a multinational audience across eight European countries. This coverage bolstered the resort’s reputation as a quality tourist destination and helped attract growing numbers of visitors. Home to around 6,000 people in low season, these days, its 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 form part of the Dolomiti Superski, one of the world’s biggest ski areas, complete with 1,200 kilometres of runs. They include the Olympia delle Tofane, Canalone and Col Druscie runs, all of which hosted races at the 1956 Games and continue to attract both competitive and recreational skiers today.
World-class facilities
The staging of the VII Olympic Winter Games left Cortina d’Ampezzo with facilities that continue to attract major sports competitions. The venue for the 2021 FIS Alpine World Championships, FIS World Cup skiing and snowboarding races, and the 2010 World Men’s Curling Championships, the resort will co-host the 2026 Olympic Winter Games with Milan.
Better road access
Access to Cortina d’Ampezzo was greatly improved thanks to developments in the town’s road links and infrastructure in the years leading up to the VII Olympic Winter Games. Though improvements to the existing road network were already planned, the pace of their implementation was accelerated by the staging of the Games, with the Italian government investing nearly 2 billion lire (equivalent to approximately EUR 50 million today) in them. The roads built, repaired and widened at the time still serve the region and were improved before Cortina hosted the 2021 FIS Alpine World Championships.
Innovations in the sporting arena
The VII Olympic Winter Games was 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 sport federations decided to adopt for all future major international competitions. In the Alpine skiing competitions, meanwhile, starting gates were used for the first time. The official start time was automatically triggered by an optical signal, similar to a traffic light, and a buzzer sounded to alert the athlete. Starting gates have been used at every Olympic Winter Games since.