President Sergio Mattarella visited the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic village in Milan on Thursday amid mounting excitement here ahead of the opening ceremony of the Games at the San Siro Stadium on Friday.

    Escorted by eight of the presidential cuirassiers, the Italian head of State was welcomed to the village by Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala, Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana, Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) President Luciano Buonfiglio, Milano Cortina Foundation President and former CONI chief Giovanni Malagò and Games CEO Andrea Varnier.

  After entering the village, Mattarella went to the Olympic Truce Wall to sign it.
    "The first competition is with oneself and with one's limits to surpass oneself, to improve oneself, and then there is, alongside that, the one with the other participants," Mattarella said during a meeting Italian athletes at the village.
    "We hope there will be lots of medals but what is important is the way you participate, with commitment, giving your all, with fairness, with respect for others.
    "This competition gives in the world a spectacle of extraordinary value, of coexistence, of friendship, of humanity, of seriousness".
   

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA