A symbolic Roman flame
A symbolic flame is lit in Rome's ancient Capitol.
The end of open air skating
The Cortina Games were the last Games at which the figure skating competitions took place outdoors.
The Oath taken by a woman
For the first time in the history of the Games, the Olympic Oath was sworn by a female athlete- the skier Giuliana Chenal Minuzzo, bronze medallist in the downhill at the 1952 Oslo Games
The Body Position
In the ski jumping competition, the Finnish team inaugurated a new aerodynamic style, which consisted of holding the arms flat against the body rather than over the head in a diving position.
A New participants
Soviet athletes at the Winter Games.
Ceremonies
Cortina 26 January 1956. Opening Ceremony : Giuliana Chenal Minuzzo pronounces the Olympic Oath.
Official opening of the Games by: President Giovanni Gronchi
Lighting the Olympic Flame by: Guido Caroli (speed skating)
Olympic Oath by: Giuliana Chenal Minuzzo (alpine skiing)
Officials' Oath by: The officials' oath at an Olympic Winter Games was first sworn in 1972 at Sapporo.