Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 6, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 6, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleItaly's President Mattarella honors Milan's transport with a tram ride video during the Milano Cortina Olympics, featuring iconic Carrelli trams.
By Elvira Pollina
MILAN, Feb 6 (Reuters) - At the London 2012 Olympics, Queen Elizabeth appeared to parachute into the stadium for the opening ceremony.
At Friday's opening of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Italy offered a more prosaic arrival: a video showing President Sergio Mattarella travelling to Milan's San Siro stadium aboard one of the city's most distinctive symbols – a Carrelli tram.
The tram driver who opened the doors for Mattarella at the San Siro stop was played by Italian MotoGP great Valentino Rossi.
Mattarella, 84, was first identified in the video when the Italian head of state picked up a soft toy dropped by a child.
Today 125 of the historic Milan trams, whose rattling presence has been part of daily life since the late 1930s, remain in service, after restoration work by the local transport company ATM to return them to their initial yellow-and-cream livery and refurbish their wooden interiors.
Its distinctive silhouette is also familiar to residents of San Francisco, where several units were purchased in the 1980s.
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina; Editing by Alison Williams)
A tram is a type of vehicle that runs on tracks and is used for public transportation, typically in urban areas.
The Milano Cortina Winter Olympics is a major international multi-sport event that will take place in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
Cultural significance refers to the importance of a cultural artifact or practice in representing the values, beliefs, and identity of a community.
A video tribute is a short film or presentation created to honor or commemorate a person, event, or achievement.
Restoration work involves repairing and preserving historical structures or artifacts to maintain their original condition and significance.
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