These Photos Show What Cortina’s First Winter Olympics Looked Like 70 Years Ago

The 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo were a far cry from the gigantic global sporting spectacle the Italian mountain town will co-host alongside Milan in 2026.

Archive photographs from Cortina 1956 capture a far smaller, more intimate Games, with just 825 athletes from 32 countries — a stark contrast to the 3,500 athletes from 93 countries who will compete seven decades later.