Cortina Calling
With pasta you can’t buy and posters you’ll want to frame, the countdown to Milano Cortina 2026 is off to a deliciously visual start. From alpine drama to design-led storytelling, this Winter Games is shaping up to be playful, visual, and unmistakably Italian.
By Glorious
If you’re reading this, the countdown to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 has officially begun. Not with a stadium full of fireworks or a snow-dusted montage, but with pasta. Olympic ring-shaped pasta, to be precise. It’s niche, it’s limited edition, and it’s not for sale. Boxes have been sent to a very select group of people – from media and athletes to stakeholders – to mark the milestone (grazie mille, nothing says countdown like carbs!). It’s the first time the Olympic rings have ever been made into pasta shapes, which feels both ridiculous and completely right. It’s Italian, it’s joyful, and it’s oddly perfect.
The pasta is just one of the early signals that these Games are going to be different. Not louder, not flashier, just sharper. More considered. And if the pasta is the amuse-bouche, the main course arrived in the form of two new posters. The official Olympic and Paralympic Iconic Posters were unveiled at Triennale Milano. They’re not just visual branding. They’re part of the Cultural Olympiad, which sounds grand but is essentially a way of saying art matters here.
harmony
Olimpia Zagnoli’s work is instantly recognisable. Bold shapes, saturated colours, and a kind of graphic clarity that feels effortless. Her poster features a close-up of a character wearing Olympic ring-shaped glasses. “Through this bold, vibrant image, I wanted to celebrate not only the athletes but also the spectators,” she says. “Highlighting the uniqueness of everyone who takes part in and experiences the Games.” The style draws from Milan, her hometown, and the mountains of Cortina. It’s a visual blend of place and personality.
Carolina Altavilla’s Paralympic poster is a different kind of composition. It’s dynamic, expressive, and full of movement. “I wanted to create an image that speaks of inclusion without stereotypes,” she says. “Celebrating the Paralympic values of courage, determination, inspiration, and equality.” Her poster features all six Paralympic disciplines, set between the Tre Cime di Lavaredo and the Duomo of Milan. “The piece conveys energy, connection, and mutual support,” she adds. “Imagining a space where everyone can feel welcomed, safe, and valued.”
So what exactly is Milano Cortina 2026? It’s the next edition of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, hosted jointly by Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. The Games will take place across two regions, with Milan staging the ice sports and Cortina handling the alpine events. It’s a city-meets-mountains setup that feels distinctly Italian. Milan brings the design, the pace, the polish. Cortina brings the snow, the drama, the altitude. Together they offer a setting that’s both cinematic and grounded, with just enough contrast to keep things interesting.
The programme will include everything from figure skating to bobsleigh, ski jumping to curling. The Paralympic Games will follow with six disciplines, each one demanding its own kind of precision and power. But beyond the sport itself, what’s already clear is that Milano Cortina 2026 is shaping up to be a Games with personality. Not just in the competition, but in the way it’s being presented. There’s a sense of playfulness in the details. A kind of quiet confidence.
legacy
Zagnoli’s career spans everything from book covers to branding campaigns. She’s worked with The New Yorker, Vogue Italia, Penguin, Prada and Apple. Her illustrations have appeared in galleries, children’s books, and even subway stations. “Designing the official poster for Milano Cortina 2026 was a great honour for me,” she says. “It means becoming part of the visual history of the Olympic Games, contributing through my art to narrate a moment of celebration, inclusion, and collective memory.”
Altavilla’s background is as multidisciplinary as her work. She’s an illustrator, designer, art director and visual artist based in Torino. Her clients include The Guardian, Corriere della Sera, and the World Bank. Her style blends surrealism, baroque painting and modern sculpture, resulting in characters that are bold, expressive, and unmistakably hers.
Together, the posters do what good Olympic art should. They reflect the spirit of the Games without trying to define it. They’re not mascots or medals. They’re not trying to sell you anything. They’re just here to say this is what it looks like, this time around.
And what it looks like is a Games that’s rooted in place. Milan and Cortina aren’t just venues. They’re part of the story. The posters draw from the fashion and design scene of Milan, the mountain landscape of Cortina, and the Italian spirit that runs through both. “These works convey the harmony between sport and society, tradition and innovation,” says Andrea Varnier, CEO of Milano Cortina 2026. “It is a visual and symbolic balance that reflects the inclusive and contemporary spirit of our Games.”
continuity
There’s a lot of talk about legacy in Olympic circles, and it usually involves infrastructure or medal counts. But the visual legacy, the posters, the mascots, the design language, is just as important. It’s what sticks in the mind long after the closing ceremony. “Through art they become both memory and projection,” says Domenico de Maio, Education and Culture Director of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026. “Weaving past, present and future into a dialogue that unites culture, sport and community.”
So yes, there’s pasta. And yes, there are posters. But there’s also a sense that Milano Cortina 2026 is building something more interesting than just another winter spectacle. It’s shaping a Games that feels local and global at the same time. One that’s not afraid to be playful, or beautifully specific.
Whether you’re watching from the stands, the sofa, or somewhere in between, the countdown is on. And if you happen to be eating Olympic ring-shaped pasta while you do it, well, that’s just good timing.
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