Mountain Giants

The Olympic Games were first held in Olympia in 776 BC. For over a thousand years, the games marked the rhythms of the ancient world. The opening ceremony involved the lighting of a sacred fire at the Temple of Hera by focusing sunlight, generating a flame that was a symbol of continuity, energy, and renewal. That ritual would be revived with the introduction of the modern games at the end of the 19th century, creating a powerful bond with the ancient past. Since 1936, the Olympic torch has opened the games after a relay symbolically uniting lands, peoples, and generations.

For the Winter Olympics, introduced in 1924, the flame was first lit in 1952 in Oslo—not in Olympia, but in Morgedal, the birthplace of Sondre Norheim, a pioneer of modern skiing. The torch relay took two days, covering 225km to reach Bislett Stadion, where 694 athletes representing 30 nations were gearing up to compete. It was the beginning of a new era. The Winter Games thrust the mountains into the limelight as an arena of technical progress and a forge of the collective imagination.

With Milano-Cortina 2026, the Winter Olympics will be returning to Italy for the third time. A comeback that invites us to look back at the past to understand the transformations of the present.

The 20th century changed the face of winter sports as we know them. Not only did competitive skiing change, but above all the kit available to athletes for taking on the mountains. Scientific research, industrial experimentation, and new materials revolutionized skis, ski boots, bindings, mountain gear, and clothing. Wood, leather, and wool were progressively replaced by light metals, plastic, synthetic fibres, and high-performance solutions. Technology embraced sport and sport became a showcase of innovation.

In all this, the Milan fairgrounds played a driving role as a venue bringing together makers, distributors, sportspeople, and the public, in a continuous dialogue between manufacturers and society.

For decades, the fairs and specialist shows staged at the Milan fairgrounds—in particular MIAS–Italian Sporting Goods Exchange—were the main showcase for the latest developments in the sector. It was at the fairgrounds that many makers forged their brand identities, launched revolutionary new products, and intercepted changing needs.

Nordica, Tecnica, Dolomite, Colmar, Moncler, Rossignol, Fischer, and Salomon are all brands that have become household names thanks to their winning mix of sport, manufacturing, and marketing—all amplified on the stage of the Milan fairgrounds.

Colmar

Established in 1923 in Monza by Mario Colombo (the company name takes the first three letters of his family name and given name), Colmar originally manufactured felt hats and gaiters and work wear, before specializing in sportswear—especially skiwear—after the second world war. Working with the Italian Winter Sports Federation (FISI), Colmar developed the innovative technical gear sported by Italian national teams from the 1950s through to the 1990s, including the very first aerodynamic windbreaker, while also breaking ground in the youth fashion market. Today, Colmar continues to make innovative sportswear and fashion apparel.

Nordica

Established in 1939, after the war Nordica rose to fame as a manufacturer of ski boots and then footwear for cross-country skiing and rock climbing. In 1950, champion alpine ski racer Zeno Colò won two world titles in Aspen wearing Nordica ski boots. Key technological innovations would follow in the 1960s, including buckles, polyurethane boots, plasticized uppers, and raised cuffs.

Dolomite

Established in 1897 by Giuseppe Garbuio as a craft manufacturer of custom-made shoes, the “Fabbrica Scarpe Montello” is the oldest manufacturer in Italy of sports footwear. In the 1920s, the company began specializing in hiking shoes, and in the 1930s, ski boots. Dolomite rose to fame in the 1950s when it began supplying international expeditions to the Himalayas, including the historic 1954 conquest of K2. Ongoing innovation led to breakthroughs in the 1970s, such as the plastic ski boot, and new apparel collections.

Tecnica

A sportswear and sporting goods specialist, Tecnica was established in 1960 by Giancarlo Zanatta in Montebelluna. Initially a manufacturer of work shoes, in 1969 the group shifted its focus onto winter sports, launching the celebrated Moon Boot in 1970. Not long after it released the Tecnus boot, the first bi-injected plastic ski boot. In 1985, Tecnica expanded into the outdoor footwear market, becoming a worldwide leader in the sector.

Moncler

Established in 1952 by René Ramillon and André Vincent in Monestier-de-Clermont, a French ski resort from which it takes its name, Moncler originally manufactured sleeping bags and tents for mountain use. It developed its first down jackets in 1954 as workwear for the factory workers, but thanks to mountain climber Lionel Terray, Moncler down jackets would become essential gear for high altitude sports. As sales grew, driven by the growth of winter tourism, in the 1980s the down jacket became a must on the urban fashion scene.

The meaning of the mountains has changed over the years. From an extreme landscape off-limits for non-specialists, it has become a place of leisure, tourism, and cultural consumption. Winter sports have widened their appeal to the broader public, while technical gear has become a mainstay of everyday life.

Today, however, this story faces new challenges. Climate change is progressively reshaping the mountain environment, reducing snow cover and shortening winter seasons. It is a turning point that calls on us to think about the future of winter sports and our relationship with the mountains.

The Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games are not only a major sporting event, but a historic moment for the city of Milan and its fairgrounds. For the first time, a part of the fairground district has been transformed to host competitions and strategic services for the games, underscoring the importance of the fairgrounds as a key facility for serving the great changes of the age.

With the set-up of the grounds and the pavilions overhauled, the Fiera Milano Foundation has prepared the fairground district to host a series of Olympic sports events and the media centre for the games.

It is a return to our origins, in a contemporary key, but also an investment in the future. In the 20th century, the fairground’s pavilions set the stage for the growth of winter sports, showcasing new products, brands, and innovations. Now, in 2026, the fairgrounds are set to become a part of the Winter Olympics itself, contributing directly to the staging of the games and giving the city of Milan a series of permanent new facilities.

Looking back at the past helps to grasp the deeper meaning of this continuity—the fairgrounds as a crossroads, a place of transformation and vision. It is in this framework that we can appreciate the Olympic legacy of the efforts carried out for 2026. A facility that, today just like yesterday, makes big events happen and become part of Milan’s history.

The creation of venues at the fairgrounds to host the speed skating and ice hockey events was just one part of a greater project successfully brought to term by the foundation, which also involved the adaptation of the MiCo Convention Centre in Milan to host the Olympic media centre.

The initiatives herald new opportunities for Fiera Milano, enhancing its flexibility, and tie into plans for the redevelopment of area. Once the games are over, the speed skating rink will be converted into the Live Dome, one of Europe’s biggest indoor venues for concerts, leading events, and sports competitions, and space will be created inside the two-storey pavilions for the new Fiera Milano Lab, designed to host conventions and smaller-scale fair formats.

The fire that burns in the Olympic torch and the facilities to enable its media broadcasting reflect the same golden principle of adapting the legacy of the past to the challenges of the present. In the intersection between memory and future, Fiera Milano has found a unique role to play in the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.