Residents of Cortina, a Winter Olympics Hub, Are Angry About All the Construction
Nytimes reports that residents of Cortina d’Ampezzo are divided over extensive construction for the Winter Olympics, with some angrily opposing new infrastructure and others accepting or welcoming upgrades. Gildo Siorpaes, 88, a former Olympian from nearby Mortisa, said the work is “ruining everything.” In the buildup to the Games, roads were closed, traffic diverted and workers clogged the streets; an Olympics digital clock and statue were erected in a closed town square, and backhoes and cranes dotted the landscape, leaving the town garlanded in orange netting.
Locals grumbled about organizers, developers and politicians, and Andrea Varnier, chief executive of the Milan‑Cortina organizing committee, said, “The Cortinesi are a big pain.” Organizers say the projects include a bobsled track, a new cable car, roads, parking lots and renovations of apartments and a piazza that will remain after the Games.