Mario Ghedina

Italian architect Mario Ghedina was involved in planning and building the ski stadium and the ice tracks for bobsleigh and luge competitions at the 1956 Winter Games at Cortina d’Ampezzo. Together with Cesare Valle he was also responsible for the structural monitoring of the sports facilities during the Games. One of his other projects was the Stadio San Paolo at Napoli, which he co-designed with others from 1949-59. Ghedina lived and worked in Roma. From 1960 he was President of the “Ordine degli Architetti di Roma”.

His Project for Ice Sports at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Cortina’s ice rink was to accommodate up to 8,000 spectators but occupy as little space as possible. There was a first draft from the late 1940s - probably the project submitted in London - with only one ice rink. At the request of the organizers, a second one was added later. To adapt the bleachers to the local architectural style, visible concrete parts were clad with fir and pine wood. The roof was made of copper plates. The opening took place in October 1955.