Milano Cortina 2026: Your guide to Team Italy at the Paralympic Winter Games
Meet the host team and discover top moments that shaped their journey to the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games 17 Feb 2026
The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games will showcase the best of Para sport, delivering unforgettable moments in Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard and wheelchair curling.
Up to 665 athletes from around 50 National Paralympic Committees are set to compete from 6–15 March, making Milano Cortina 2026 one of the most anticipated editions of the Paralympic Winter Games.
Discover the Italian delegation at Milano Cortina 2026 and explore moments that shaped its Paralympic Winter Games journey.
Italy at Milano Cortina 2026
Italy is set to field its record number of athletes at the Winter Paralympic Games. The team will compete across all six sports on the programme, representing the nation on home snow and ice.
After securing seven medals (two gold, three silver and two bronze) at Beijing 2022, Italy now aims to build on that success as it prepares to welcome the world to Milano Cortina 2026. The last time the country hosted the Winter Games, at Torino 2006, Italian athletes claimed eight medals, including two golds.
Para alpine skiers Rene De Silvestro and Chiara Mazzel have been selected as flagbearers for the Opening Ceremony. De Silvestro, who captured the giant slalom sitting title at the Maribor 2025 Para Alpine World Ski Championships, is chasing his first Paralympic gold. Mazzel will make her second Paralympic appearance.
Giacomo Bertagnolli, a double gold medallist in Para alpine skiing at Beijing 2022, is one of the athletes to watch. For the first time since Vancouver 2010, Italy will also be represented in wheelchair curling, a sport that made its Paralympic debut in Italy 20 years ago.
Among the athletes making their Paralympic debut is Para snowboarder Emanuel Perathoner, a two-time Olympian who transitioned to Para sport following a serious training accident ahead of the Beijing 2022 Olympics.
The delegation will be led by Angelica Mastrodomenico, who will serve as Chef de Mission for Milano Cortina 2026.
❄️ Italy's Top Moments at Winter Paralympics
Innsbruck 1988: Italy’s first gold medals
Maurizio Cagol was the only Italian athlete at Geilo 1980, but by Innsbruck 1988 the team had grown to more than 20 athletes. That year, Para alpine skier Bruno Oberhammer and Para cross‑country skier Paolo Lorenzini won Italy’s first Paralympic gold medals.
Oberhammer, who had taken bronze on his Paralympic debut at Innsbruck 1984, stood on top of the podium twice in the men’s B3 category, winning both the giant slalom and downhill events ahead of Canada’s Uli Rompel.
Paolo Lorenzini also had a strong showing, taking gold in the men’s long-distance 30km B3 race and adding two bronze medals. His career stretched across six Winter Paralympic Games, from Innsbruck 1984 to Salt Lake City 2002.
Oberhammer continued competing at three more Games, collecting another gold, five silvers and three bronzes.
Torino 2006: Silvia Parente becomes Italy’s first female Winter Paralympic champion
At Italy’s home Games, Silvia Parente made history by becoming the country’s first female Paralympic Winter Games champion. Competing at her fourth Paralympics, she won the women’s giant slalom visually impaired event, finishing 0.27 seconds ahead of France’s Pascale Casanova.
Parente also picked up three bronze medals on home snow.
Vancouver 2010: Francesca Porcellato shines in Para cross‑country skiing
Francesca Porcellato, a summer‑winter dual athlete, won Italy’s only gold medal at Vancouver 2010, taking victory in the women’s 1km sprint sitting event on the final day of competition.
Known in Italy as La Rossa Volante (“The Flying Red”), Porcellato made her Paralympic debut at Seoul 1988, where she won two golds, a silver and two bronzes in Para athletics.
After earning 10 Paralympic athletics medals across five Games, she switched to Para cycling, winning bronze medals at Rio 2016 and a silver at Tokyo 2020. She most recently competed at Paris 2024, marking her 12th Paralympic Games.
PyeongChang 2018: Manuel Pozzerle wins Italy’s first Para snowboard medal
Manuel Pozzerle became Italy’s first Para snowboard medallist when he claimed silver at PyeongChang 2018.
More than 20 years after first stepping on a snowboard, he took silver in the men’s snowboard cross SB‑UL event, finishing just under a second behind Australia’s Simon Patmore. The USA’s Mike Minor earned bronze.
Pozzerle said afterward that his goal had simply been to finish in the top four, and he dedicated the medal to his family.
Beijing 2022: Giacomo Bertagnolli wins two golds and two silvers
Giacomo Bertagnolli bagged two gold and two silver medals at Yangqing National Alpine Skiing Centre, becoming Italy's most successful athlete of Beijing 2022.
Bertagnolli, Italy's flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony, exceeded expectations, being the only athlete from his country to win a gold medal in China. Bertagnolli won the men's super combined and slalom vision impaired events with his guide skier Andrea Ravelli.
"Every medal has a unique story," said Bertagnolli, who captured four medals, including two golds, on his Paralympic debut at PyeongChang 2018.
"But the one I remember very clearly is the first gold medal in Beijing with Andrea because it was the gold medal in the super combined – that was the only medal I didn't win in 2018 in PyeongChang. It was the first gold medal and the one missing so it was special for me.
"From that medal on, I was super chill, and I just focused on the other races."
At Milano Cortina 2026, the home star is aiming to win more medals in front of a home crowd, and he is confident that he is on the right path. He won two events at the Para Alpine World Championships in February 2025.
"I think (Milano Cortina 2026) will be a very cool event, and I want to be ready to do my best," he said.
Secure your tickets for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games
Milano Cortina 2026, which takes place from 6-15 March 2026, is set to be the most beautiful Paralympic Winter Games yet. Ticket prices start at EUR 10 for children under 14, with approximately 89 per cent of the tickets available for EUR 35 or less. Specially-priced Early Bird tickets are available until 6 May 2025.
For more information, please visit tickets.milanocortina2026.org
