On the occasion of the XXV Olympic Winter Games of Milano Cortina 2026, scheduled from 6 to 22 February 2026, CONI will stand alongside its athletes across the territories hosting the competitions. Casa Italia will serve as a gateway to the discovery of our country, through its three venues — Milan, Livigno and Cortina d’Ampezzo — open to all visitors attending the Olympic Games.
For the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic appointment, CONI has chosen Musa as the theme for Casa Italia, to highlight the central role that our peninsula has played for centuries in the world’s imagination and culture.
Traditionally, the Muses — besides being protectresses of the arts, including the athletic ones — are those who preserve memory, inspire and safeguard all human knowledge. In classical mythology, these figures accompanied the gods, who were believed to watch over the physical and spiritual education of young people.
The Muses are the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory, born after the father of the gods, through his victory over the Titans, brought a new order to the world. The Muses are therefore the keepers of harmony, which triumphs over chaos through the innovative power of the arts combined with the remembrance of the past. Perhaps for this reason, they are the only deities, alongside Zeus, to deserve the epithet Olympian.
Symbolically, the Muses represented for the Greeks the phenomenon of inspiration — that moment when one experiences a spark of genius, an intuition that can change oneself, history, and the world around us.
What Casa Italia seeks to underline is Italy’s ability to embody the role of a Muse — that is, a source of inspiration for the greatest minds of international culture, who, upon visiting, have allowed themselves to be transformed by it, influencing their way of seeing the world. Italy, with its landscape so varied that it ranks as the second most biodiverse country in the world after Brazil; with its geographical position that at times resembles the landscapes of Northern Europe and at others those of Africa; with its long history of rulers and ruled, which enriches it with stories and monuments of inestimable value; and with its diverse humanity and cultural complexity — becomes the accomplice of that magical process we call inspiration.
For this reason, Casa Italia is imagined as a place that tells Italy’s story through the eyes of foreigners who, within its geological, geographical, cultural, linguistic, culinary and climatic complexity, have found the encyclopaedic essence of a nation capable of embracing, preserving and celebrating diversity — a value that the International Olympic Movement recognises among its highest.
Developing the concept of Musa, Casa Italia will transform its three venues — Triennale Milano, the Olympic Training Centre at Acquagranda in Livigno, and Galleria Farsetti in Cortina d’Ampezzo — into scenic and emotional journeys, where sport, nature, art, architecture, furniture and lighting design engage in close dialogue.
Within these environments, visitors will encounter true exhibition projects showcasing works by Claudio Abate, Juan Araujo, Arman, John Armleder, Atelier dell’Errore, Matteo Attruia, Per Barclay, Jessie Boswell, Fernando Botero, Christo, Ifeyinwa Joy Chiamonwu, Elmgreen & Dragset, Slawomir Elsner, Bekhbaatar Enkhtur, Chung Eun-Mo, Geltin, John Giorno, Itamar Gov, Wang Haiyang, Keith Haring & L.A. II, Craigie Horsfield, Bryan Hunt, Joseph Kosuth, JR, Hayv Kahraman, William Kentridge, Jannis Kounellis, Susanne Kutter, Sol LeWitt, Miltos Manetas, Matta, Gerhard Merz, Mario Merz, Jonathan Monk, Davide Monteleone, Vik Muniz, Shirin Neshat, Dennis Oppenheim, Adrian Paci, Park Eun Sun, Yan Pei-Ming, Alejandra Varela Perera, Davide Rivalta, Ugo Rondinone, Anri Sala, Eva Sajovic, Daniel Spoerri, Thomas Struth, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Newsha Tavakolian, David Tremlett, Lihi Turjeman, Tursic & Mille, Cy Twombly, Ben Vautier, Uwe Wittwer, Sislej Xhafa, Massimo Campigli, Luca Campigotto, Mario Ceroli, Giorgio de Chirico, Filippo de Pisis, Jean Fautrier, Piero Gemelli, Jiří Kolář, Hermann Nitsch, Robert Rauschenberg, Ottone Rosai and Mario Schifano.
The architectural and interior design project interprets the MUSA theme starting from the landscape — and especially the mountain — as a natural and symbolic element, both as backdrop and destination of the eighteenth-century Grand Tour that inspired generations of travellers, and above all as the natural theatre and very raison d’être of winter sports and the Olympic Games.
In this sense, the installation recovers the aesthetics and atmosphere of nature and the technical and athletic dimension of the mountains, guided by a strong spirit of sharing — expressed through light, durable, and temporary architectural and material solutions, respectful of the extraordinary alpine environments that host them.
From this premise, a project was developed which, like a fil rouge, links the three venues and their distinct contexts under a shared system of meanings articulated in the following principles:
- Mountain architecture: the bivouac as refuge
The project favours reflective aluminium cladding, recalling the tradition of mountain bivouacs — temporary yet welcoming shelters located in remote places, designed to be easily transported to high altitude and maintained over time — perfectly interpreting the spirit of the Winter Olympics, their sense of community, endurance, and the overcoming of limits.
- Architecture in motion: sports infrastructure
The design draws inspiration from the aesthetics of “mobile” architecture and the infrastructures (ski lifts, cable cars, gondolas) that make the mountains habitable. Aerodynamic curves, serial repetition, modularity, rhythm, and technical vocation all embody the expressive traits of movement and speed inherent in winter sports.
- Dialogue with nature: reframing the landscape
For the temporary pavilion of Galleria Farsetti in Cortina, the project features façades characterised by a system of modular, serial “portholes”. The view of the landscape is therefore not offered as a simple transparent surface but rather “framed” by a sign that defines the site’s identity and symbolic value.
- Exterior and interior: aluminium and wood
The design revolves around two materials that best express the nature and values of the overall concept. The external aluminium — for its technical properties — embodies the durability of mountain bivouacs, while its reflective qualities enhance the presence of snow and multiply the perception of the landscape. The interior wood, the material par excellence of alpine tradition, restores the domestic warmth and hospitality that have always defined the concept of Casa Italia.
- Interior design: the landscape as inspiring MUSE
In interior design, taking the mountain as Musa has a dual meaning: on one hand, the mountain as landscape — with its minerals, woods, and reflections; on the other, the mountain as a warm, enveloping atmosphere of alpine interiors.
The project unfolds across Milan, Cortina and Livigno following this dual narrative, building, in close synergy with the overall concept, an interior landscape within each venue.
This objective is made possible by the expressive power, innovation and sensory richness of the furnishings created by Casa Italia’s partner companies: Edra, B&B Italia, Ethimo, Glas Italia, Poltronova — and Flos for lighting.
Italian design has always been, intrinsically, a Musa within the international design scene, thanks to its unique ability — past and present — to respond to functional needs while simultaneously stimulating the senses and intellect.
The selected furniture designers include both historic and contemporary masters, Italian and international, who — through their collaboration with the exceptional craftsmanship and industrial expertise of our companies — have created iconic pieces that ignite imagination. Among them: Francesco Binfaré, Fernando and Humberto Campana, Masanori Umeda, Jacopo Foggini, Mario Cananzi and Roberto Semprini for Edra; Mario Bellini and Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia; Patrick Norguet, Christophe Pillet, Cristina Celestino, Matteo Thun and Antonio Rodriguez for Ethimo; Patricia Urquiola, Piero Lissoni and Tokujin Yoshioka for Glas Italia; Gianni Pettena and Archizoom Associati for Poltronova; and Formafantasma, Michael Anastassiades, Philippe Starck, Vincent Van Duysen, Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Guglielmo Poletti, Mario Bellini, Tobia Scarpa, Piero Lissoni, Jasper Morrison, Erwan Bouroullec and Barber Osgerby for Flos.
Enel will illuminate Casa Italia and bring its energy to the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. As Official Partner of Casa Italia in Milan, Livigno and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Enel will sign the Lighting Design project, enhancing the three venues through innovative and sustainable solutions. Enel will also play a leading role in the Medal Moment, accompanying athletes’ celebrations with a distinctive presence across all visual and digital formats, in line with the values of energy, pride and innovation.
