The Olympic Cauldron now towers over the Olympic Stadium of Torino as the last segment has assembled, the twisted top section, where the Flame will burn. Rising 57 metres, the Cauldron of Torino 2006 is the tallest in the history of the Olympic Games, and on next February 10th with its lighting, the XX Olympic Winter Games will formally open.

Positioned on the north-south axis of the Olympic Stadium, about 60 metres from the outside perimeter of the stands, it will be an Olympic symbol that people can see from all over the city. It has a lighting mechanism that is being kept secret until the last moment, After the Cauldron is lit, it will hold and protect the Flame of Olympus until the 26^th of February, when the Closing Ceremony will bring to an end the XX Olympic Winter Games of Torino 2006.

Designed by Pininfarina, the Torino Olympic Cauldron will burn thanks to the fundamental contribution of Italgas, Sponsor of the Olympic Games, as an Official Supplier and Official Partner of the Paralympic Games. It is an important contribution, from the technological point of view and for the supply of gas.

One of the most important historical symbols of the Olympic Event, the Cauldron has the role of holding and displaying the Olympic Flame during the Games. Since 1928 (the year when it was formally introduced), it has marked the opening and the closing of the Olympic celebrations, and with a perfect equilibrium between symbol, design and function, it allows the host country to express the culture, the soul and the history of an entire nation. The creative project of the Cauldron of Torino 2006 was founded on the desire to represent in a single object the tension of the Olympic challenge: five powerful columns rise upwards towards the sky, representing the values of the Olympic Spirit. As they climb towards the heavens, competitive tension generates a twist of pure energy that is transformed immediately into the Flame.
 

The structure of the cauldron has three main “conci” (vertical segments), respectively 31 m., 15 m., and 11 m. high; the last is the twisted part. Due to the height of the Olympic Stadium (about 26 m), the Flame can be seen from all over Torino. The Cauldron is made up of five tubular structures, with a diameter of 60 cm that wind around in a circumference 3 m. of diameter. A sixth central tube starts at the base and arrives at the summit, widening in the last three metres. It forms the place for the burners that will produce a flame 4 metres high. The five outside tubes twist around each other in the final part and are crossed by the central one.