At the Genoa European Championships, Olympic torches on display Sport and Fair Play: two special awards at the Palasport

Olympic Torches: a history of emotions. At the Jean Nouvel Pavilion, where a free “fencing village” open to all is set up, two exhibitions are attracting great interest. On one side “From history to fencing”, a fascinating journey from ancient armored duels to today’s sporting discipline. On the other “The magic of Olympic Torches“, a spectacular display of numerous original torches from summer and winter Olympics, from Berlin 1936 to Paris 2024 (video here https://youtu.be/XQ8Ii9HNYOY).
On July 20, 1936 in Olympia, with a parabolic mirror concentrating the sun’s rays, the flame was lit in the presence of Baron Pierre de Coubertin. The relay reached Berlin on August 1, 1936 where an Olympic brazier was lit in the city center. Subsequently, with a relay of 347 torchbearers for 347 km, it also reached the city of Kiel, venue of the Olympic sailing regattas, and the Grunau water basin, venue of canoe and rowing competitions. This was the torch’s route: Olympia, Athens, Sofia, Belgrade, Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Berlin.
From then on, each Olympic edition is told in the exhibition through its torch. To recall the Olympic truce of ancient games, soldier Konstantinos Dimitrelis, first torchbearer of London 1948, symbolically removed his uniform, laid down his weapons and donned sports clothing.
On July 24, 1948 the flame relay stopped at the Bois de Vaux cemetery in Lausanne, at the tomb of Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games. The flame reached England on July 28 and entered Wembley Stadium the following day during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
On August 18, 1960 the Amerigo Vespucci, training ship of the Italian Navy, arrived in Syracuse after departing from Magna Graecia, following a special route through Greece and Imperial Rome. The first torchbearer in our country was football referee Concetto Lo Bello. The torch en route to Rome stopped in Naples, venue of Olympic sailing regattas, and Castel Gandolfo, where canoe and rowing competitions took place. On August 24 the torch entered Rome via Via Appia Nuova and was welcomed with great celebration at the Campidoglio. The next day it reached the Olympic Stadium for the Games’ opening ceremony. The final torchbearer was Giancarlo Peris.
Not just torches but also the blue Olympic clothing of specific Olympic editions and many evocative details. Up to the Paris 2024 torch with its unique, luminous champagne color. Designer Mathieu Lehanneur drew inspiration from three distinctive elements of Paris 2024: equality, water and peacemaking.
Also on display are torches from the two winter Olympics organized in Italy. The Cortina 1956 one was lit on the Campidoglio steps in Rome and blessed by Pope Pius XII. Zeno Colò carried the flame to Cortina while skiing, while two other Olympians, Severino Menardi and Enrico Colli, alternated bringing the flame into the stadium. Speed skater Guido Caroli lit the Olympic cauldron after tripping on TV cables, present at the Games for the first time.
Fifty years later, the Turin 2006 torch was designed by Pininfarina with a modern reinterpretation of the traditional wooden torch where metal ideally catches fire and burns. The Olympic Flame passed through the hands of over 11,000 torchbearers, traveling through Olympia, Athens, Rome, Florence, Genoa, Cagliari, Palermo, Naples, Bari, Ancona, San Marino, Bologna, Venice, Trieste, Ljubljana, Klagenfurt, Trento, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Milan, Lugano, Bardonecchia, Grenoble, Albertville, Aosta and finally Turin.
Fair Play. Two special awards alongside the European Fencing Championships taking place in Genoa. The first is promoted by Panathlon International and is linked to the ethical gesture of Hungarian épéeist Gergely Siklosi who, in the semifinal bout with Ukrainian Roman Svchlar at 0-0, asked the referee to remove the first touch awarded in his favor because the piste wasn’t isolated and he hadn’t hit the foot. A wonderful gesture by Siklosi who then lost 6-5 against Svchlar who became European champion.
A second recognition, the “Morelli Award” goes to Alessandro Rizzi, designer and creator of the Jean Nouvel and Palasport setups for this 36th edition of the European Fencing Championships. The award, offered by Enrica Morelli, commemorates her brother Marco, for years a member of the FIS Semi Commission and manager of Ligurian fencing clubs (first Pompilio then Club Scherma Rapallo).
Tickets. Tickets for the final day of the Genoa 2025 European Fencing Championships can be purchased on Vivaticket at this link https://efcgenova2025.vivaticket.it/ or directly at Palasport and Jean Nouvel.
Tomorrow’s program. Final competition day with women’s épée and men’s foil. On the piste will be Italians Rossella Fiamingo, Giulia Rizzi, Alberta Santuccio and Lucrezia Paulis. Great anticipation for Guillaume Bianchi, fresh European champion, with Alessio Foconi, Filippo Macchi, Tommaso Marini. Morning qualifications at Jean Nouvel. From 3:30pm at Palasport the bronze finals and at 5:30pm the closing ceremony followed at 6pm by finals to award the last golds.

Photo credit: BIZZI/Federscherma