Final preparations at the Arch of Peace where the Flame will burn during the Games.
The Olympic Flame in Milan in 1948!
By Philip Barker at the Piazza del Duomo, Milan
The Olympic Flame is set to arrive at the Piazza Duomo from a 69-day Relay which began in December in Rome.
The first time it visited the city was 78 years ago when it passed through en route for London 1948.ISOH members may recall an article published in the Journal of Olympic History (2025/2) but this did not include a vital piece of information which has now been retrieved with the help of the the Libraria Bredense in Milan.
The bearer, hitherto long forgotten, was Lieutenant Vispi of the 67th Fanteria (infantry regiment.)
He was greeted by Prefect Dr. Vicenzo Ciotola and the mayor Antonio Greppi, General Umberto Utili and representatives of the British Consulate in the city.
In common with all the other 757 runners on Italian soil, Vispi wore a khaki uniform and red beret.
La Gazzetta dello Sport, an Italian sports daily which had been founded at the time of the first Modern Olympics in 1896, reported “the crowd, enthusiastic and orderly, gave Milan’s greetings to the Olympic symbol.”
The 1948 Flame in Milan was front page news for the great Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport.
As the Flame entered the city, it was escorted by police and also a number of local cyclists including Bersaglieri Sergeant Major Regina, who had followed the Giro D’Italia on his touring bike.
It was carried on the Via Emilia before reaching the Piazza de Duomo.
Amongst those to welcome it were junior footballers and members of women’s athletics groups.
“It arrived this morning at 8.30 with perfect punctuality, an astonishing punctuality if one considers that the prestigious symbol had left Olympia six days ago and since then has made its way across the territory of two nations,” marvelled the Corriere della Serra.
The 1948 Flame continued to the Swiss border and then across Europe to London.
The 2026 Relay is set to arrive in Milan on Thursday. The detailed schedule has not yet been released but the itinerary is expected to begin at Sesto San Giovanni in the morning and conclude at the Piazza del Duomo in early evening.
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