Author

Michael Houston

4 March 2026

Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics: Team Italy

The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games are set to begin and now it is time to feature the last National Olympic Committee (NPC) set to compete: host nation Team Italy.

Team Italy will be represented by two wheelchair curling teams: Team Marchese (mixed team) and Team Ioriatti/Berto (mixed doubles).

Team Marchese: Italy’s long‑awaited Paralympic return

16 years in the making, Italy return to the Paralympics in wheelchair curling and will have the backing of the home crowd behind them.

It is another opportunity for the hosts of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games to push the sport, after a fruitful period around the time of the Torino 2006 Paralympics.

When they last hosted, Italy’s mixed team were a staple at the World Wheelchair Curling Championship, appearing in all three tournaments hosted prior to the Games. In Torino, they finished a respectable seventh and carried the momentum through into 2008 and 2009, with two top six finishes. At Vancouver 2010, they finished fifth, just missing the play-offs.

But soon after came a lull. They would qualify for the 2012 World Wheelchair Curling Championship, but finished last and they would not return again until 2021.

Since then, they have competed in all four world championships, with a best finish of eighth.

Egidio Marchese at the World Wheelchair Curling Championships 2025 © World Curling / Ansis Ventins

Meet the teams

Team Marchese

Egidio Marchese (SKIP)

Age: 57
Paralympic Appearances: 2006 (Seventh), 2010 (Fifth)
Fun fact: He hails from the south of Italy, in the Calabria region. He represented Italy in curling at the first two Paralympics.

Fabrizio Bich (THIRD)

Age: 56
Paralympic Appearances: Debut
Fun fact: Would compete in bobsleigh, luge or skiing if he was not a curler.

Matteo Ronzani (SECOND)

Age: 45
Paralympic Appearances: Debut

Angela Menardi (LEAD)

Age: 62
Paralympic Appearances: 2010 (Fifth)
Fun fact: She competed at the 1992 Winter Paralympics in cross-country skiing.

Giuliana Turra (ALTERNATE)

Age: 46
Paralympic Appearances: Debut
Fun fact: She was introduced to the sport while bonding with a wheelchair curler to spend more time with him.

QUALIFICATION

Team Marchese secured their spot at Milano Cortina 2026 as hosts.

TEAM STATS

Italy returns for the first time since 2010.

Team Ioriatti/Berto

Orietta Berto

Age: 49
Paralympic Appearances: Debut
Fun fact: She would be working as an accountant clerk if she was not a full-time curler. She listens to energetic music to keep warm before going on the ice.

Paolo Ioriatti

Age: 54
Paralympic Appearances: Debut

QUALIFICATION

Team Marchese secured their spot at Milano Cortina 2026 as hosts.

TEAM STATS

2024 World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles bronze medallists

Keeping the flame alive

Now is an opportunity to push for the medals again while having rings of “Italia” around the arena in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Leading them this time is Egidio Marchese, who skipped the team 20 years ago in Torino too. He will have the honour of being the only player to represent Italy in all three Paralympics they have qualified for in curling. Now 57, he is joined by another returning athlete, the 62-year-old Angela Menardi, the team’s lead.

Coming in for their debuts are vice-skip Fabrizio Bich, second Matteo Ronzani and Giuliana Turra, the team’s alternate.

Marchese is a rare kind in the sport — an Italian southerner. He only started to take interest in the sport following a car accident in 1997. This led to a friend from the Italian Paralympic Committee, the late Andrea Tabanelli, asking in 1999 if he would be interested in helping them form a wheelchair curling team for Torino 2006. They both played together for the first two Paralympics in skip positions.

Egidio Marchese, Matteo Ronzani and Angela Menardi at the World Wheelchair Curling Championships 2025 © World Curling / Ansis Ventins

Support from the south

From a small village in Calabria to his early adult years in Valle d’Aosta, he became the face of the wheelchair curling over those first two Paralympic Games. His whole life trajectory stems from his decision to leave the economically poorer south for work opportunities.

“I come from a very typical southern family,” said Marchese to Reuters, “My father was a miner and my mother a housewife.

“I had to choose between studying or making money, and I chose the second.

“My attachment to Calabria is strong, but I had to leave to make a living.”

He recalls having his family in attendance in 2006, less than a decade after his injury, was a great source of pride to him. The sport has greatly improved his mental health following his accident.

Team Marchese against Japan at the World Wheelchair Curling Championship 2025 © World Curling / Ansis Ventins

Hopes shine bright with home backing

Two decades on, there are plans to perform even better.

“We are in the process of technical and mental preparation,” said Marchese to International Paralympic Committee media.

“Winning a medal would certainly be a dream for everyone, but the important thing is to play high-level curling to inspire as many people with disabilities as possible.”

Marchese will be hoping to bring glory in the four-person event, but the mixed doubles is where their odds are arguably higher. Orietta Berto and Paolo Ioriatti will look to replicate their success at the World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, where they finished fourth in the inaugural tournament in 2022, before claiming bronze in 2024.

Just a few months ago, the pair even took bronze at the highly-regarded Riga International Curling Tournament, showing the form of potential podium sitters by the end of the competition.

But what cannot be understated is the impact hosting the Games can have. Last time around, Italy’s momentum continued through to the following Paralympic Games, and the same could be achieved this time around.