Italy's flag bearers at the Winter Olympics.

Opening Ceremony

The role of flag bearer is one of the highest honors for an Olympic athlete is a task reserved for athletes who have represented excellence in Italian sports. Here is the historical list.

Edition	Location	Flag bearer	Discipline
1924	Chamonix	Andrea Venerando	Figure skating
1928	St. Moritz	Ernesto Zardini	Bob
1932	Lake Placid	Ernesto Zardini	Bob
1936	Garmisch-Partenkirchen	Ernesto Zardini	Bob
1948	St. Moritz	Giulio Gerardi	Cross-country skiing
1952	Oslo	Giulio Gerardi	Cross-country skiing
1956	Cortina d'Ampezzo	Giulio Gerardi	Cross-country skiing
1960	Squaw Valley	Bruno Alberti	Alpine skiing
1964	Innsbruck	Lamberto Dalla Costa	Bob
1968	Grenoble	Claudio Apollonio	Bob
1972	Sapporo	Erminio Sertorelli	Cross-country skiing
1976	Innsbruck	Claudio Ravetto	Biathlon
1980	Lake Placid	Joseph Fabre	Sledding
1984	Sarajevo	Giuliana Minuzzo	Alpine skiing
1988	Calgary	Maurilio De Zolt	Cross-country skiing
1992	Albertville	Alberto Tomba	Alpine skiing
1994	Lillehammer	Deborah Compagnoni	Alpine skiing
1998	Nagano	Gerda Weissensteiner	Sledding
2002	Salt Lake City	Isolde Kostner	Alpine skiing
2006	Turin	Carolina Kostner	Figure skating
2010	Vancouver	Giorgio Di Centa	Cross-country skiing
2014	Sochi	Armin Zöggeler	Sledding
2018	PyeongChang	Arianna Fontana	Short track
2022	Beijing	Michela Moioli	Snowboard cross

Note: In 2022, Michela Moioli replaced Sofia Goggia, originally designated, due to injury.

Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony also featured prominent Italian athletes.

Edition	Location	Flag bearer	Discipline
2014	Sochi	Arianna Fontana	Short track
2018	PyeongChang	Carolina Kostner	Figure skating
2022	Beijing	Francesca Lollobrigida	Speed skating

Note: Francesca Lollobrigida was chosen for the Beijing 2022 closing ceremony after winning silver in the 3,000 meters.

Curiosities and Records

• Ernesto Zardini e Giulio Gerardi are among the athletes who have paraded the most times as flag bearers.
• Deborah Compagnoni: First Italian woman to win three Olympic gold medals in alpine skiing and flag bearer in 1994.
• Arianna Fontana: Only Italian athlete to have paraded as flag bearer in both the opening (2018) and closing (2014) ceremonies.
• In 2022, for the first time, Italy had two flag bearers for the inaugural ceremony (a woman and a man), following the guidelines of the IOC For gender equality.

Toward Milan-Cortina 2026

For the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina 2026, Italy has not yet officially announced the flag bearer. However, possible candidates include athletes such as Federica Brignone, Sofia Goggia, Davide Ghiotto e Federico Pellegrino, all with distinguished careers and Olympic medals to their credit.