February 17, 2026

Today I want to talk about the Arch of Peace, a triumphal arch located in Milan, Italy, as I visited it last week. It’s pretty close to my hometown, so it usually happens that I visit the arch when I’m in Milan.

The Arco della Pace (Arch of Peace) is a neoclassical triumphal arch at the northern end of Piazza Sempione. Commissioned in 1807 under Napoleon, it was originally meant as a grand entrance to the city celebrating French victories. After Napoleon’s fall, construction paused and resumed under Austrian rule; the arch was ultimately completed in 1838 and rededicated to peace following the Congress of Vienna.

In 2026, the Arco della Pace gained a new symbolic role as part of the 2026 Winter Olympics co-hosted by Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. For the first time in Olympic history, two official Olympic cauldrons were lit simultaneously: one positioned under the Arco della Pace in Milan and the other in Cortina’s Piazza Dibona.

Each evening, the cauldron becomes the focus of a short choreographed performance combining fire, lighting, and sound, designed to be accessible to the general public.

By animating a historic monument with contemporary technology, the installation linked the arch’s original symbolism of peace with the Olympic values of participation, encounter, and continuity across cultures.