The 1956 Winter Games, officially the VII Winter Olympiad, were held in
Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Dolomites of northeastern Italy. These were the
first Winter Olympics televised to a multi-national audience. There
were 32 competing countries making it the largest number of
participating nations in a Winter Games to that point. The Soviet Union made
its Winter Olympics debut and won more medals than any nation. It marked the first Olympic Games, summer or winter, that were internationally televised.
Featured here is a scarcity torch from the 1956 Winter Olympics that was used in the flame relay. Made of silvered
metal and designed
by Ralph Laversl, it measures 16.25″ in length and 5.5″ at its widest. The torch was modeled after the ones used at the 1948
London and 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics. The upper bowl section has the look of the Olympic cauldron, with three cut-outs of the Olympic rings surrounded below by the inscription, “VII Giochi Invernali Cortina 1956.” Adding to its rarity and enhancing its value immensely is the once lit wooden burner that comes with this exquisite complete example.
The torch presents in fantastic condition for being used over 60 years ago, with some handling wear and a couple nicks and scratches but nothing significant to note.
The Olympic flame was initially lit not in Olympia, Greece, like most traditional Games, but rather in Rome at the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus before making its way north via a combination of plane, gondola, ice skates, and skis. The torch entered the Olympic Ice Stadium
four days later, with participating speed skater Guido Caroli skating
into the arena to light the cauldron. Caroli infamously
tripped over broadcast wires on his way to the cauldron--not exactly the ideal way to open the first ever televised Games, but a moment many wouldn't soon forget.
It should be noted that earlier this year, a similar example complete with its original wooden burner sold for $26,950 at auction.