Atene 1896

The first edition of the modern Olympic Games was held in Greece, just as Baron de Coubertin had dreamt. The opening ceremony took place, according to the Gregorian calendar at that time in force in Greece, on the 25th of March: equal to our 6th of April. The event, for us, created little interest, despite the fact that "La Gazzetta dello Sport" (Italian newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports) was actually established during the days of the event. From Italy, recently shocked by the heavy lost in the Battle of Adwa, only Milanese Carlo Airoldi would depart, setting off on foot for Athens arriving 28 days later to run the first Marathon in history. But he was not allowed to compete as the jury considered him a "professional" athlete.