Daily TribuneThe Italian Residence in Manila opened the Winter Olympics with a tight, unsentimental dinner, and diplomacy standing in for snow.
FROM a country with no snow, Filipino alpine skiers Francis Ceccarelli and Tallulah Proulx (in photo) step into the Winter Olympics in Italy, carrying a flag that first arrived here in 1972, the year the Philippines became winter sports’ first tropical outlier.
Photograph courtesy of Tallulah Proulx
In Makati, far from the Alpine cold, the opening of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics was observed with a small dinner and a toast.
At the Italian Residence, Ambassador Davide Giglio gathered business leaders and cultural partners for an intimate reception marking the Games’ launch with nary snow machines or skaters, but a brief set of wine-drunk remarks in a tropical evening.
The moment carried added resonance for the Philippines.
Alpine skiers Francis Ceccarelli and Tallulah Proulx raised the Philippine flag during simultaneous opening rites in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo: Ceccarelli at Livigno Snow Park in Italy’s Valtellina region, Proulx at Piazza Angelo Dibona in the heart of Cortina.
For a country without winter, the image of its flag against Italian snow underscored a growing athletic and diplomatic footprint.
Italy and the Philippines mark 77 years of diplomatic relations this year, with ties spanning maritime trade, shipbuilding, design and a Filipino community numbering in the tens of thousands across Italy.
In Makati, the Olympics became shorthand for that partnership.
