by InTrieste
The Paralympic flame arrived in Piazza Unità on Monday evening, 2 March, briefly transforming the city’s grand waterfront square into a stage for the countdown to the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games.
Carried into the square by torchbearers and greeted by residents, students and local sports associations, the flame’s stop in Trieste was one of 13 scheduled across Italy. The relay spans 11 days and approximately 2,000 kilometers, linking communities nationwide to the Games, which will take place from March 6 to 15, 2026.
The flame was first lit on Feb. 24 in Stoke Mandeville, widely regarded as the birthplace of the Paralympic movement. It then traveled to Turin before beginning its route across the country.
In Trieste, the ceremony unfolded against the backdrop of the Adriatic Sea, with representatives of local athletic organizations and members of the national Paralympic community in attendance. Among them was Matteo Parenzan, a Paralympic table tennis player, alongside delegates from the Comitato Italiano Paralimpico.
As the torch circled the square, spectators paused to take photographs and applaud. The moment was brief but symbolic — a reminder of the movement’s origins in rehabilitation sport and its evolution into one of the world’s largest athletic competitions. For Trieste, the stop marked a place on a national route carrying a message of inclusion and determination toward next year’s Winter Paralympics.
