Visitors to the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, will not only have an opportunity to take in the sports and landscape of Italy but enjoy the country’s extensive cultural offerings as well through the Cultural Olympiad, which will run until March 15, 2026, with many associated events continuing into the spring. The Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 along with CONI (Italian National Olympic Committee) are bringing Olympic and Paralympic values into museums, theaters and cultural venues, with events held across Italy.
The program aims to inspire participation, enhance cultural exchange and promote Olympic and Paralympic values, while also leaving a cultural legacy to the communities that host the events, as is often the case for Olympic Games host regions.
Rather than a single curated festival, the Cultural Olympiad is built through projects proposed by museums and cultural institutions and selected for inclusion. On the official website, visitors can explore a map of Italy highlighting all the institutions whose projects are part of the Olympiad. The events will be prevalent near Olympic venues, especially Milan which will host the opening ceremony on February 6, 2026.
Milan’s Castello Sforzesco hosts the exhibition “L’Italia sulla Neve” (“Italy on the Snow”), running until March 22, 2026. This exhibition displays more than 100 objects, graphic materials and illustrated periodicals that trace the birth and spread of winter sports in Italy, with a focus on what this has meant for tourism, fashion and visual aesthetics. It offers an alternative historical perspective of the relationship between Italy, luxury travel and winter sports, part of Italian identity. The exhibition is open from Tuesday through Sunday, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with free admission.
Also in Milan, the Piccolo Teatro joins the Cultural Olympiad with a special program dedicated to Milano Cortina 2026. Among the main events is an “Olympic” version of Slava’s Snowshow by Slava Polunin, running at Teatro Strehler from January 28 to February 22, 2026. It is a visual, wordless performance with striking stage visuals centered on themes of snow and winter, for audiences of every age and background or anyone open to being moved by a blend of theater, sport and memory.
For those who will instead have the opportunity to stay in Cortina, home to some of the most beautiful Olympic venues in the Dolomites, it’s worth mentioning the exhibition “Cortina di Stelle” (“Blanket of Stars,” a wordplay on Cortina, which in Italian also means “blanket”). The exhibition will run until April 5, 2026 at the Lagazuoi Expo Dolomiti area, at 8,963 feet at the upper station of the Lagazuoi cable car, departing from Passo Falzarego.
Curated by artist Fulvio Morella, the exhibition promotes dialogue with Paralympic values, through art and inclusion. The location hosting the exhibition is itself an exceptional natural stage that enhances the emotional perception and beauty of the works on display. The exhibition consists of three series of works that integrate Braille as an artistic language. Wood and metal sculptural panels, tactile constellations and encrypted messages to be “read with the fingers”, along with luminous sculptures in steel and wood in which light emerges from Braille. The exhibition is free and open daily, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. and this multisensory high-altitude experience can be a highlight of the visit.
For those who will follow the Games up close, the Cultural Olympiad offers the chance to pair sporting competitions with high-level cultural experiences, adding a broader dimension to the Olympic and Paralympic program.
– Irene Speretta