| Description : The 2006 Winter Olympics were held in Turin, with the Alpine
skiing competitions taking place in Sestriere, at an altitude of around 2,000 metres. The coin, designed by Maria
Carmela Colaneri, shows an alpine skier and Turin's landmark, the Mole Antonelliana, built between 1863 and 1889.
Initially planned as a synagogue by architect Alessandro Antonelli, the out‐of‐control construction costs exceeded
the financial strength of the Jewish community ‐ in 1877, thanks to a citizens' initiative, the building was taken
over by the city of Turin. Today it houses the National Film Museum. At the top, the event is called "GIOCHI INVERNALI"
(Winter Games) and below the tower "TORINO" (Turin) as the venue of the sporting event. To the right of the skier is the
year of issue "2006" written vertically and below it are the designer's initials "M.C.C.". To the right of the tower the
name of the state is depicted as the ligature "RI" (Repubblica Italiana, Italian Republic) and the "R" the mint mark of the
Italian mint Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in Rome. The coin was minted in an exceptionally high mintage
of 40 million pieces. |
