Rome, 23 December 2025 – The journey continues Olympic Flame towards Milan, where the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games will officially open next February.
Today, Tuesday 23 December, the torch paraded and stopped at Napoliin its eighteenth stage, passing through the symbolic places of the city. Among the torchbearers also Giuseppe Maddaloniknown as Pino, federal councilor of the judo sector and Olympic champion in Sydney 2000, the second Italian to win an Olympic gold in this discipline. With him, the torch traveled a stretch of the way near the Star Judo Club gym in Scampia, the neighborhood where he grew up and where he took his first steps on the tatami trained by his father Gianni. The neighborhood where he then decided to stay to continue offering opportunities to young people in the area. Its story is also told in the film “L’oro di Scampia” by Marco Pontecorvo.
“This Flame does not weigh, but carries with it a great responsibility – said Maddaloni – While running I thought about my journey, the teachings of my father and mother, the Scampia gym, the Fiamme Oro and everything that sport has given me. The Olympic Flame represents sacrifice, respect and redemption: the same values that I try to convey to the kids of my neighborhood and my city every day. My medal has never been just a personal achievement, but a starting point to demonstrate that a different future can be born from sport. Today this race is a message of hope: with commitment and passion you can go beyond limits and build opportunities where there seemed to be none.“
The torch, after the lighting ceremony at the site of Ancient Olympia and after the delivery ceremony in Rome, is crossing all the Italian regions before reaching Milan, where the Olympic brazier will be lit during the ceremony on 6 February.
In recent days, the symbolic witness of the Olympic spirit also touched Sicily, with two significant stages for the FIJLKAM world. Wednesday 17 December, ad Avolawas Luigi BusàOlympic champion in Tokyo 2020 in karate, to carry the torch. The following day, Thursday 18th, a Cataniaamong the torchbearers there was Salvatore Campanellaformer Olympic athlete and federal councilor for the fight sector.
The journey of the torch – which involves hundreds of sports witnesses in each region – represents an opportunity for all of Italy to share Olympic and sporting values through a great collective moment.
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