So, you’re in Milan, drinking your espresso with the pinky finger up – like a perfect Italian – and you open your newspaper app so you can read the news…let’s see…hot topics of February 2026 in Italy…Olympics, Olympics and Olympics!

Everybody is talking about the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan…but here’s some facts that you probably missed.

The Ministry of Education for this year’s Olympic Winter Games announced a contest among schools to choose the best design for the official mascots for the event. The winners were five students from a school in Calabria, who created the two ermines Milo and Tina. As their names might suggest, Tina represents the city of Cortina while Milo represents Milano and symbolizes the paralympic edition of the Winter Games.

Every four years, when the Winter Olympics start, every one of us while watching a strange sport wonder: “what the heck is that?!” Among those strange sports, curling is the strangest of all. Its origins date back to 16th-century Scotland, where it was practiced on frozen lakes as a winter pastime. The game is played on a rectangular ice rink and, in case you are wondering, the goal is to place the stones closer to the center of the target than your opponent. Teammates sweep the ice in front of the stones to influence its trajectory and speed.

You know how life is…expect the unexpected: here’s some of the most unexpected medal winners so far:

  • Federica Brignone won two gold medals in women’s giant slalom and women super-G. The Italian skier just recovered from a terrible injury, and no one expected such a triumph.
  • Brazil won its first ever gold medal thanks to Lucas Pinheiro Braathen who competed in alpine skiing. The young athlete also received congratulations from the legendary Alberto Tomba.
  • When 17-year-old Ami Nakai saw the number three next to her name she simply thought that she hadn’t won. Only after a few seconds she realized that three meant bronze medal! Quite an achievement considering she is the youngest Japanese figure skater to win an Olympic medal.

So, if you have relocated to Milan you may want to thank the IOC (International Olympic Committee) for bringing the Olympics in your city, as you are having the opportunity to assist to such a spectacular event.