At the 1956 Cortina Winter Olympics, women are numerically a minority (just 16% of the athletes) but a highly significant one. For the first time in Olympic history, a woman, skier Giuliana Minuzzo, reads the official oath during the opening ceremony. Multiple roller-skating champion Alberta Vianello has the honor of carrying the Olympic torch for a stretch, becoming the first female torchbearer in Italy.

Cortina also becomes a hub of high society: Sophia Loren, patroness of the Games, increases the international media’s interest in the event.

Skiers Madeleine Berthod and Ossi Reichert win the slalom, while American Tenley Albright gets the gold in figure skating ahead of Carol Heiss. Among the Italian athletes, the very young skaters Manuela Angeli and Fiorella Negro attracted journalists’ interest for their appearance and character even more than for their athletic preparation.

Cortina 1956 thus appears as a laboratory of modernity and contradictions: while Italy presents itself on the world stage as an innovative country, old stereotypes continue to weigh on the new challenges of women’s sports.