Read Bormio: "Cortina 1956. An Olympics between the Cold War and the Dolce

Read Bormio

The Department of Culture organizes "Read Bormio", a series of meetings with different authors.

Reading and discussion of the book "Cortina 1956. An Olympic Games between Cold War and Dolce vita" by Andrea Goldstein, published by Rubbettino, 2025.

Plot

It is impossible to retrace the story of the Olympics in Cortina without focusing on the social side. As the “Libertad” of Valladolid wrote, “while official delegates gently toast with frequent elegant cocktails amid the thick smoke of tobacco, rivers of vermouth, and beautiful and sophisticated tourists from all over the world, athletes sweat on the snow of the competitions.”

Tanley Albright – who started skating as a child to recover from polio and won gold despite a serious injury – and the Prince of Sweden – who invited the skiers and sled drivers to his gala reception. Toni Sailer – who forcefully entered history by winning all alpine skiing competitions with monstrous margins – and Sophia Loren – who arrived with just the necessary things for a couple of days stuffed into seven fiery red trunks. Eugenio Monti – who collected the first laurels of a career concluded 12 years later, at 40, with two Olympic golds on his home track – and Lester Rodney – who described the Soviet triumphs during the height of the Cold War for the newspaper of the American Communist Party. They are just some of the protagonists of the first Olympics organized in Italy, at the dawn of the economic boom, just 11 years after the end of World War II. But they were also the first broadcast live on television, the first in which a woman read the athletes' oath, and the first in which the two Germanys competed under the same flag. The story of Cortina 1956 spans from sport to economy, from politics to social events, in an ideal journey that leads from those unforgettable Games to Milan Cortina 2026.

Upcoming events with "Read Bormio"

Saturday, March 21, 2026 | L'arto fantasma e le mie paure (The phantom limb and my fears) | by Moreno Pesce, moderated by Tiziana Compagnoni, Michael Edizioni, 2021

Details