Overview
- Greece handed the flame to organizing chief Giovanni Malagò at Athens’ Panathenaic Stadium in a ceremony scaled back because of storm warnings.
- The lantern flew to Rome on an ITA Airways flight, with tennis Olympian Jasmine Paolini and Malagò carrying it off the plane before a cauldron lighting at the Quirinale on Friday.
- The domestic relay begins Saturday from Rome’s Stadio dei Marmi and will cover roughly 12,000 km through all 20 regions and 110 provinces with 10,001 torchbearers.
- The route includes 60 city celebrations and stops at landmarks such as the Colosseum, Venice’s Grand Canal and Pompeii, reaching Cortina d’Ampezzo on Jan. 26 and finishing at Milan’s San Siro on Feb. 6.
- Venue delivery remains under scrutiny, with Milan’s Santa Giulia Arena still unfinished despite a January handover and a Jan. 9–11 test event planned, while Livigno’s snowmaking system awaits permits that officials say will be resolved next week.