On Friday, February 13, a delegation from the Presidential Office of the Grand Council of the Republic and Canton Ticino will be in Milan for an institutional visit, in the context of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Leading the mission, the President of the Ticino Parliament, Fabio Schnellmann.
The 2026 Games directly involve Lombardy and, due to geographic proximity and economic ties, also the Ticino region . The stated objective is to strengthen channels of institutional dialogue and explore issues related to the Olympic event's impact on the cross-border region.
A visit to the Swiss House
The day in Milan will begin with a meeting with the Consul General of Switzerland in Milan, Stefano Lazzarotto . The delegation will be accompanied to the Casa Svizzera, a space for representing and promoting the Swiss presence in Italy, which has hosted cultural, economic, and diplomatic initiatives over the years.
This moment has not only symbolic but also operational significance: on the one hand, it reaffirms the role of Swiss diplomacy in managing bilateral relations, and on the other, it offers an institutional framework for discussing the opportunities and challenges associated with the Winter Games.
Comparison with the Lombardy Region
The political highlight of the visit will be the official meeting with Lombardy Region President Attilio Fontana. The 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics will be the primary focus , with particular attention to their regional implications.
Among the topics covered: the infrastructural impact, the overall costs of the event, the critical issues that emerged during the organizational phase, and the expected economic effects. For the Canton of Ticino , which shares a dense network of daily exchanges with Lombardy—from cross-border commuters to trade flows— the Olympics represent a potential multiplier of opportunities but also a source of questions.
The discussion should also address potential synergies in tourism and logistics , given the geographic proximity and complementary Alpine offerings . A discussion on how Ticino could capture part of the induced business linked to visitor and investment flows is also possible.
The AlpTransit dossier and common perspectives
Alongside the Olympic chapter, the meeting will offer an update on the AlpTransit dossier. The topic of railway infrastructure remains central to relations between Switzerland and Italy, particularly regarding north-south connections and accessibility to the Insubric region.
For Ticino, AlpTransit represents a long-term strategic investment. Coordination with Lombardy is considered crucial to fully exploiting the potential of the new rail network, both in terms of passenger mobility and freight traffic.
In this context, the institutional visit also serves as a moment to review the progress of projects and the prospects for future cooperation.
A symbolic closure on the ice
The day will conclude with participation in the ice hockey match between the Swiss and Canadian national teams , scheduled for the Santa Giulia Ice Arena in Milan. The choice of this sporting event is no coincidence: hockey is a central sport in Swiss tradition and one of the symbols of winter sports.
The presence of the Ticino Grand Council delegation at such a significant international event is part of the institutional and cultural relations that accompany major sporting events. The visit to Milan is therefore a moment of political and diplomatic dialogue amid growing attention to the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics. For Ticino, a border region and natural bridge between Switzerland and Italy, the Olympic dossier represents a challenge that is played out not only on a sporting level, but also on an economic and infrastructural level.
