2006 Torino Olympic Winter Games Medals Unveiled

Torino, Italy - December 2, 2005

The medals for the XX Olympic Winter Games – Torino 2006 have been unveiled to the world at a ceremony in Torino by Jean-Claude Killy, Chairman of the IOC’s Coordination Commission, and Valentino Castellani, President of the Organising Committee for the XX Olympic Winter Games – Torino 2006 (TOROC).

The Piazza - The medal concept was worked upon by Ottaviani International and the TOROC graphic team, headed by Dario Quatrini. The medal is round with an empty space at the centre, representing the Italian piazza. The medal will be wrapped up in its ribbon, which, unlike in previous Games, will not be sewn to its top. The front of the medal will include the graphic elements of the Games, while the back of the medal will feature the pictogram of the sports discipline in which the medal was won. To highlight the three-dimensional characteristics of the medal, its surface has been carefully made using full and empty spaces, with shiny and satiny textures.

Italian History - Quatrini, who created the design for the medals, incorporated views, ideas and models from Italian history and its tradition of forms and manufacturing: rings, ancient coins and ornaments. The solution of the circle with the space at the centre links all the basic themes and motifs of the Turin Games and embodies the leitmotiv of Torino 2006 – the piazza. The medal is also round like the Olympic rings or a symbolic victory ring and, with its open space at its centre, it reveals the place where the heart beats, the symbol of life itself. The medal is only complete, however, when it is hanging geometrically from the athlete’s neck, lying on his chest, circling and revealing the area near his heart and focusing attention on the athlete’s vital energy and human emotions.

“Lost-wax” - The technique used to produce the medals is a very old one, over 1,000 years-old, known as “lost-wax” casting or “microfusion”. The technique consists in preparing the object using a special wax, which is injected into silicon rubber moulds made on an original matrix known as the “prototype”. The object is then linked to a network of ducts through which the wax enters and is placed in a cylinder full of liquid ceramic plaster. It is then fired in an oven at 800° Centigrade and, when the wax cools, the dissolved wax is eliminated and molten metal is poured in to fill the space. Once cooled for the second time the craftsman sets to work to finish the object, which finally receives an application of colour using a patina obtained with acid and heat.

Friendship, Honour, Excellence - Commenting on the medals, Jean-Claude Killy said, “The medals represent the values of Olympism: friendship, honour and excellence in the respect for one’s opponent. This particular design ideally recalls the spirit of loyalty that lodges in the heart of all true sportsmen.”

Image Of Italy - Valentino Castellani stated, “I am thrilled to think that these medals will depart from Torino, around the necks of the world’s greatest athletes, and will travel all over the earth. The athletes’ exploits and their smiling faces will preserve the memory of these extraordinary Games of Torino 2006 and with this memory, the image of Italy.”

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