Across mountains and metropolises, Milan Cortina Olympics take form across Italy

The Milan Cortina Olympics come in various options, from the winter wonderland that is Livigno to the big city of Milan. Not to mention Cortina d’Ampezzo and several other venues.

Livigno, located some 1,816 metres above sea level and nestled in the Rhaetian Alps near the Swiss border, offers the picture-postcard version of the games.

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Getting there is a challenge, but the journey and destination are worth it

From Milan, it’s a train and two bus rides. Once you leave the Milan suburbs, you get picturesque lake views and then start climbing.

Bus drivers negotiate windy, narrow two-lane roads like motorized limbo dancers. For the uninitiated, parts of the  240-kilometre journey are a white-knuckle ride, albeit one worth marvelling at.

As you near Livigno, you pass the famed Stelvio ski course, site of Saturday’s Olympic men’s downhill in Bormio. The run is 3,442 metres in length, with a 1,023-metre vertical drop and a maximum gradient of 63 percent. It looks like someone has casually slung a giant white garbage bag down the side of a cliffhanger.

Arriving at night in Livigno, in fog and snow, the drive reminds you of the “Resident Evil” video game or “The Shining.”

They take their snow removal seriously in Livigno with plows and trucks seemingly working around the clock to keep the roads clear.

Livigno is home to the Olympic freestyle skiing (at the Livigno Aerials and Moguls Park) and snowboarding events (at the Livigno Snow Park), which are located less than three kilometres apart.

The snowboard cross, slopestyle, halfpipe and parallel giant slalom courses are lined up next to each other at the Snow Park, with the big air jump a stone’s throw away. The daunting big air jump, where Canadian Mark McMorris crashed in training Wednesday, stands more than 50 metres tall.

The town of Livigno, said to have a permanent population of some 6,700, is a ski paradise with runs all around. Skiers and snowboarders stroll through the streets while shoppers enjoy the town’s duty-free status.

The weather has also been delightful. On Thursday, it was a sunny 1 C, feeling like four degrees for a while.

Walking to the Snow Park, you can pass snowmobilers and cross-country skiers while in town a jogger in shorts gets his workout.

The Canadian team in Livigno likes what it has seen so far.

“We’ve had nice weather. The accommodation in Livigno is great. The people of Italy have been wonderful,” said Brendan Matthews, Canada Snowboard’s vice-president of business development and partnerships. “So, so far, in terms of an Olympic experience, no complaints. The stoke is very high.”

The nearby Livigno Athletes Village is a converted resort, with a Whistler-like feel.

“It’s pretty cool,” said snowboarder Kaylie Buck, a two-time Olympian from Oakville, Ont. “They’ve done a really good job of making it feel homey, giving us a Canadian space while also being surrounded by all the athletes.”

Toronto’s Ben Heldman, a first-time Olympian, was beaming at his experience to date — even when he acknowledged that he and roommate Arnaud Gaudet, a fellow snowboarder from Montcalm, Que., could touch the walls if they stood next to each other.

IN MILAN: OLYMPICS ARRIVE AMID THE EVERYDAY RUSH

In Milan, fans, tourists and representatives of various national teams surrounded the spectacular Duomo di Milano and lined up to enter the main Olympic store on a sunny, 10 C afternoon.

Hours earlier, environmental group Greenpeace carried out a protest in front of the city’s main cathedral, leaving behind a structure portraying Olympic rings doused in oil as the Olympic torch arrived in Milan on Thursday. Hundreds of protesters also demonstrated against the deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Piazza XXV Aprile main square last week.

Light installations reading “Milano Cortina 2026” with caricatures of several winter sports lined the city centre streets, while the Games’ logo hung from the ceiling inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II luxury shopping centre.

The Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena — in the headlines over the last few months due to construction delays and ice quality concerns — saw its first game action with the 11,600-seat venue’s first women’s tilt between hosts Italy and France in front of a spirited crowd.

Inside the Portello metro station, near the Games’ Main Media Centre, Olympic exhibits — including images of Sidney Crosby and statistics on Hayley Wickenheiser — covered the walls.

Olympic cheer had not yet taken hold elsewhere in the fashion-hub city, the Games blending into the everyday hustle and bustle with official stores propped up next to historical landmarks and flags draped on lamposts.

Figure skating, speedskating and short track speedskating events also take place in Milan, with all venues scattered around the city’s outskirts. San Siro Stadium – home to iconic soccer clubs A.C. Milan and Inter Milan – hosts Friday’s opening ceremony.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO: WHERE THE GAMES FEEL AT HOME

Blue skies and sunshine peeked through the clouds Thursday with the Dolomites mountain range providing a stunning backdrop on the second day of Olympic competition in Cortina.

Hours of steady snowfall a day earlier provided some winter flavour to the Games in this ski resort town, some 400 kilometres outside of Milan.

The scent of burning wood from nearby chalets tickled the nostrils by the main drag near the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, where mixed doubles play kicked off the sporting calendar on Wednesday night.

Cortina will also host luge, skeleton, bobsled and women’s alpine skiing over the next fortnight.

Olympic buzz was somewhat muted in the tony town that’s loaded with ski shops, fine clothing stores and mouth-watering pizzerias.

Cortina is rich in Olympic history, with remnants of the 1956 Games it hosted still evident in the area. The old ski jump stands like a beacon by the side of the roadway on the outskirts of town.

Modest white banners featuring Cortina in scripted lettering were prominently displayed on many of the cabin balconies and small hotels.

Buses shuttling volunteers, media and spectators tried their best to navigate the narrow slush-covered roadways with the Games set to kick into high gear with Friday’s opening ceremony.