The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina Winter Games arrived in Rome on Thursday after being handed over in Greece.
Carried in a small lantern aboard an ITA Airways flight, the flame was brought off the plane by tennis player and Olympic champion Jasmine Paolini alongside organizing committee president Giovanni Malagò.
A 63-day, 12,000-kilometer relay will begin Saturday, passing through all 110 Italian provinces before reaching Milan’s San Siro Stadium for the February 6 opening ceremony.
On Friday, the flame will light a cauldron at the Quirinale Palace in the presence of President Sergio Mattarella and IOC president Kirsty Coventry.