ROME, Dec 6 : The Olympic flame started its journey through Italy from Rome on Saturday, launching a two-month relay designed to stir excitement across the country ahead of the 2026 Winter Games.

After being lit last month in ancient Olympia, the Greek home of the ancient Games, and handed over to Italian Games organisers earlier this week, the torch set off from Rome's historic Stadio dei Marmi on Saturday.

Inaugurated in 1932 as part of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's monumental sports city project, the stadium is encircled by 60 Carrara marble statues of athletes, each about 4 metres tall, donated by Italian cities during the Fascist era.

Italy's Olympic medal-winning swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri was the first torchbearer to carry the Olympic flame as it began its 12,000-km (7,45

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