Cortina. Stories of Sport. Road to 2026.
For the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Municipality of Cortina entrusted us with creating an immersive story to guide citizens, tourists and enthusiasts through the history of the Winter Olympics in the Ampezzo valley.
Cortina, where it all begins.
Records tied to downhill techniques, records tied to materials, records tied to ski lift systems. Cortina isn't just one of the most beautiful places in the world, it's the home of winter sports. The exhibition, conceived and produced by the Municipality of Cortina d'Ampezzo and the Department of Sport, under the patronage of the National Association of Italian Olympic and National Team Athletes, was developed with the support of M9 - Museo del '900 and designed by Gris+Dainese with Studio Visuale.
Between 1956 and 2026: memory and future.
The narrative, made up of graphics, lights, sounds and video content, is designed as a show that connects past and present through a clear spatial rhythm. A white environment welcomes visitors with an immersive projection tied to speed. The visit then proceeds through three memory "capsules" dedicated to the various disciplines.
A story that becomes an experience.
In the three thematic capsules, the recurring device is threefold:
a video mapping that integrates archival material and graphic signs; historical objects and synchronized lights that turn on when the narration refers to them; physical interactions that bring everything back to the body (climbing onto a bob, feeling the weight of a curling stone, touching the skis). The exhibited objects aren't silent display cases: they become narrative surfaces, crossed by projections that reveal their details, wear, and feats.
Monti's Bold. A typeface inspired
by Bonilauri's poster and by fair play.
Italy's first bobsled track at Ronco (1923), the first cable car for skiers at Pocol (1924), the first ski jump at Zuel (1928), and even the world's first two-seater chairlift at Faloria (1947). And then there's the gesture we chose as our ethical and graphic key: when Monti –the multi-award-winning Flying Red– lent a bolt to his rivals, saying they didn't win because of that part, but because they were faster.
The Gesture of the Bolt.
Monti's Bold is the typeface we designed and used for the titling: a sign that is both "mechanical" and human, inspired by Bonilauri's 1956 poster and by that idea of sport as measure, respect and fair play. Eugenio Monti was awarded the first Pierre de Coubertin Medal -for sportsmanship- and the new Ronco track was also dedicated to him.
Storie di Sport is not just a celebration of Cortina's past: it is a story that makes tangible the continuity between 1956 and 2026, between memory and future, bringing the mountain, sport and its protagonists back to the center for the town and its people.
CORTINA STORIE DI SPORT
ROAD TO 2026
The exhibition is conceived and produced by the Municipality of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Department of Sport.
Under the patronage of the National Association of Italian Olympic and National Team Athletes.
In collaboration with Gris+Dainese Architetti, M9 Museo del '900 and Studio Visuale.
Exhibition design and coordination: GRIS+DAINESE ARCHITETTI
Stefano Gris, Silvia Dainese, Giorgia Pirrioni, Cinzia Maconi, Camilla Ceccacci, Enrico Grimani.
Multimedia project, film production, direction: STUDIO VISUALE
Francesco Pia, Daniele Balcon, Alice Musi, Marta Pulin. With the collaboration of Studio Magoga: Giacomo Severi, Manuel Perini, Elena De Stefani.
Scientific curation, research and content:
M9 - MUSEO DEL '900
Coordination: Michelangela Di Giacomo and Livio Karrer with Goffredo Adinolfi and with the essential contribution of:
Giorgio Triches, President of the National Association
of Italian Olympic and National Team Athletes Belluno-Cortina d'Ampezzo
Audiovisual technology supplier
Target Due
Construction and installation: Mimec srl
Translations: FinkIng, Venice
Audiovisual and photographic archival materials:
Archivio Storico Istituto Luce
Archivio Storico Fondazione Dompé
Centro Protesi Inail
Cineteca del Friuli
Fondazione Cortina
International Olympic Committee IOC
ManazProductions
Rai Teche
Società Infrastrutture Milano Cortina 2020 – 2026 S.p.A.
The Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, Stirling (UK)
Touring Club Italiano
Private archives
Objects on display
All the objects on display come from private collections
Special thanks to: Sci Club Cortina, Bob Club Cortina, Curling Club Dolomiti, Palestra Energym, Gianluca Menardi, Ruben Salerno and everyone who supported the project by contributing their time, expertise, collections and archival materials.
Galleria Nuovo Centro, 18, Cortina d'Ampezzo.
