These Photos Show What Cortina’s First Winter Olympics Looked Like 70 Years Ago

The 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo were a far cry from the massive global sporting spectacle the Italian mountain town will host alongside Milan in 2026.

Archival photographs of Cortina 1956 capture a much smaller, more intimate Games with just 825 athletes from 32 countries; A stark contrast to the 3,500 athletes from 93 countries who will compete seventy years later.