Milan, Cortina weigh future of popular cauldrons as Games near finale

(corrects Roberto to Marco in paragraph 13)

By Giancarlo Navach

MILAN, Feb 17 : The fate of the two Olympic cauldrons that have become among the most photographed symbols of the 2026 Winter Games remains unclear, with Milan and Cortina still debating where the structures should stand once the flames are extinguished.

What is certain is that, despite their popularity, neither cauldron will remain where it is. Both installations - unveiled during the February 6 opening ceremony in the first dual-host ignition in Olympic history - will be removed and relocated, officials from the two cities said.

Modeled on the sun and inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's geometric "Knots", the cauldrons were designed to merge natural harmony with Renaissance engineering.

Their flames sit at the heart of structures made from aeronautical aluminum that open and close through 244 articulation points and more than 1,400 mechanical components.

In Milan, the cauldron is suspended beneath the Arco della Pace, the 19th-century triumphal arch marking the spot where Napoleon III and Vittorio Emanuele II entered the city in 1859 after the Battle of Magenta — a victory that helped pave the way for Italy's unification.

Cortina's version rises from a pedestal in Piazza Dibona, near the church at the heart of the Dolomite resort’s historic centre.

Each evening from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., crowds gather at both sites to photograph the cauldrons and watch a four-minute spectacle of lights and music performed at the top of every hour. Families, couples and tourists stop to listen to a soundtrack composed by Roberto Cacciapaglia.

"I WANTED TO SEE IT AGAIN"

"The show was great. I watched it from the back, and it was spectacular," Dominic Bruce, a Games fan from London, told