Italy Cortina d'Ampezzo
VII Winter International Olympic Games
26 January - 5 February 1956
821 athletes (including 134 female ones) of 32 nations competed at the Games. Totally, 24 sets of medals had been played for in 4 sports.
53 Soviet athletes made their first appearance at these Olympic Winter Games. Athletes from Bolivia, Iran and East Germany competed at the Winter Olympics also for the first time, in so doing, the GDR and FRG athletes made up a United Team of Germany.
The Soviet athletes won 7 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze medals.
The VII Olympic Winter Games were officially opened by Italian President Giovanni Gronchi.
WINNER MEDALS
OBVERSE: the head of a woman crowned with five Olympic rings. The Olympic flame appears in the foreground.
The inscription in Italian “VII Giochi Olimpici Invernali” (English: VII Olympic Winter Games) surrounds the composition.
The brief designer’s name “Cost.After” (Costantino After) is engraved on the left of the woman.
REVERSE: a silhouette of Mount Pomagagnon, one of the principal symbols of the Games, topped with a snowflake. A legend around the top rim reads: “Citius, Altius, Fortius”, while an inscription in Italian around the bottom rim reads the city hosting the Games and year of celebration “Cortina 1956”.
COMMEMORATIVE MEDALS
The Olympic winner and commemorative medals are similar in design; at that, the commemorative medals are smaller in size. Similarly to the winner medals, the commemorative medals were made of silver-gilt (the number of copies is unknown), silver (157 copies) and bronze (2500 copies).
OBVERSE: the head of a woman crowned with five Olympic rings. The Olympic flame appears in the foreground.
The inscription in Italian “VII Giochi Olimpici Invernali” (English: VII Olympic Winter Games) surrounds the composition.
The brief designer’s name “Cost.After” (Costantino After) is engraved on the left of the woman.
REVERSE: a silhouette of Mount Pomagagnon, one of the principal symbols of the Games, topped with a snowflake. A legend around the top rim reads: “Citius, Altius, Fortius”, while an inscription in Italian around the bottom rim reads the city hosting the Games and year of celebration “Cortina 1956”.
Star of Sports Merit
GOLD WINNER MEDAL (FIRST PRIZE)
SILVER WINNER MEDAL (SECOND PRIZE)
BRONZE WINNER MEDAL (THIRD PRIZE)
GOLD (SILVER-GILT) MEDAL
SILVER MEDAL
Bronze Medal
53 Soviet athletes made their first appearance at these Olympic Winter Games. Athletes from Bolivia, Iran and East Germany competed at the Winter Olympics also for the first time, in so doing, the GDR and FRG athletes made up a United Team of Germany.
The Soviet athletes won 7 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze medals.
The VII Olympic Winter Games were officially opened by Italian President Giovanni Gronchi.
WINNER MEDALS
OBVERSE: the head of a woman crowned with five Olympic rings. The Olympic flame appears in the foreground.
The inscription in Italian “VII Giochi Olimpici Invernali” (English: VII Olympic Winter Games) surrounds the composition.
The brief designer’s name “Cost.After” (Costantino After) is engraved on the left of the woman.
REVERSE: a silhouette of Mount Pomagagnon, one of the principal symbols of the Games, topped with a snowflake. A legend around the top rim reads: “Citius, Altius, Fortius”, while an inscription in Italian around the bottom rim reads the city hosting the Games and year of celebration “Cortina 1956”.
COMMEMORATIVE MEDALS
The Olympic winner and commemorative medals are similar in design; at that, the commemorative medals are smaller in size. Similarly to the winner medals, the commemorative medals were made of silver-gilt (the number of copies is unknown), silver (157 copies) and bronze (2500 copies).
OBVERSE: the head of a woman crowned with five Olympic rings. The Olympic flame appears in the foreground.
The inscription in Italian “VII Giochi Olimpici Invernali” (English: VII Olympic Winter Games) surrounds the composition.
The brief designer’s name “Cost.After” (Costantino After) is engraved on the left of the woman.
REVERSE: a silhouette of Mount Pomagagnon, one of the principal symbols of the Games, topped with a snowflake. A legend around the top rim reads: “Citius, Altius, Fortius”, while an inscription in Italian around the bottom rim reads the city hosting the Games and year of celebration “Cortina 1956”.
Star of Sports Merit
The Star of Sports Merit (Stella al Merito Sportivo) was established to award athletes, coaches, managers and companies for their significant contribution to promotion of Italian sports.
GOLD WINNER MEDAL (FIRST PRIZE)
| Metal | silver-gilt |
| Diameter | 60 mm |
| Thickness | 3,2 mm |
| Weight | 120,5 g |
| Designer | Costantino After |
| Mint | LoriolI Bros. Ltd. (Milan, Italy) |
SILVER WINNER MEDAL (SECOND PRIZE)
| Metal | silver |
| Diameter | 60 mm |
| Thickness | 3,2 mm |
| Weight | 117,5 g |
| Designer | Costantino After |
| Mint | LoriolI Bros. Ltd. (Milan, Italy) |
BRONZE WINNER MEDAL (THIRD PRIZE)
| Metal | bronze |
| Diameter | 60 mm |
| Thickness | 3,7 mm |
| Weight | 118 g |
| Designer | Costantino After |
| Mint | LoriolI Bros. Ltd. (Milan, Italy) |
GOLD (SILVER-GILT) MEDAL
| Metal | silver-gilt |
| Diameter | 45 mm |
| Thickness | 7 mm |
| Weight | 54 g |
| Designer | Costantino After |
| Mint | LoriolI Bros. Ltd. (Milan, Italy) |
SILVER MEDAL
| Metal | silver |
| Diameter | 45 mm |
| Thickness | 7 mm |
| Weight | 54 g |
| Designer | Costantino After |
| Mint | LoriolI Bros. Ltd. (Milan, Italy) |
Bronze Medal
| Metal | bronze |
| Diameter | 45 mm |
| Thickness | 7 mm |
| Weight | 48 g |
| Designer | Costantino After |
| Mint | LoriolI Bros. Ltd. (Milan, Italy) |
Bronze commemorative medal
Bronze winner medal, third prize
Contestant Diploma
Cortino d’Ampezzo Olympic Champion Prize
Gold commemorative medal
Gold winner medal, first prize
Olympic relay torch
Silver commemorative medal
Silver winner medal, second prize
Star of Sports Merit, 1st Grade
Star of Sports Merit, 3rd Grade
Star of Sports Merit, III Class, Mini
Star of Sports Merit, Mini