Just a few days before the start of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, the event aims to be a moment of reflection, dialogue, and forward-looking discussion on the Milan Wellness City 2030 project.
Organized in collaboration with Corriere della Sera, the event will bring together public and private stakeholders and will feature the presentation of a report outlining the initiatives implemented and the first results achieved

The event will feature the following sessions:

• DEVELOPMENT, HEALTH, AND THE FUTURE: WELL-BEING AS MILAN’S STRATEGIC VISION


• THE CARING CITY: LIFESTYLES, PREVENTION, AND COMMUNITIES FOR THE HEALTH OF THE FUTURE


• MILAN AND THE 2026 WINTER GAMES: A LEGACY OF HEALTH, MOVEMENT, AND INCLUSION


• THE LET’S MOVE FOR MILANO CORTINA CAMPAIGN

With contributions from: Nerio Alessandri, Diana Bianchedi, Francesco Billari, Martina Caironi, Valentina Di Mattei, Sergio Harari, Giovanni Malagò, Daniele Manca, Alberto Mantovani, Donatella Sciuto, Filippo Tortu, and City Councillors of the Municipality of Milan Lamberto Bertolé, Emmanuel Conte, and Martina Riva

The Wellness Valley Annual Meeting will take place at the Technogym Village – The Wellness Campus (Cesena) on Friday, November 7, 2025, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The event is addressed to over 400 public and private stakeholders of the Wellness Valley and will feature the presentation of the sixth edition of the Wellness Valley Report.

 

The Report illustrates, through data, the evolution of the Wellness Valley project and its positive impact in terms of Health and Prevention, Economic Development, and Tourism.
It is produced by the Observatory for the Study and Analysis of the Wellness Valley, an independent body established under the Memorandum of Understanding—which will be renewed on this occasion—between the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Wellness Foundation, and the University of Bologna.
The Observatory is composed of a working group of experts and professionals from various institutions and disciplines, which will also be renewed during this event.

During the event, Wellness4Education will also be presented — a new educational project promoted by the Wellness Foundation to spread the culture of wellness and healthy lifestyles in schools.

The event will conclude with a moment dedicated to recognizing the Wellness Valley’s excellences — organizations and initiatives that have distinguished themselves for their commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles throughout the region.

Among the speakers taking part in the Wellness Valley Annual Meeting:

• Nerio Alessandri, President of Wellness Foundation and Technogym


• Enzo Lattuca, Mayor of Cesena


• Michele De Pascale, President of the Emilia-Romagna Region


• Emanuele Menegatti, President of the Forlì Campus Council, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna


• Diana Bianchedi, Chief Strategy Planning & Legacy Officer, Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, and Deputy Vice President, CONI

• Alessio Nardini, Director General, Ministry of Health – Directorate General for Healthy Lifestyles and Relations with the Ecosystem


• Francesca Celletti, Senior Advisor, Obesity, NFS, World Health Organization [online]


• Silvano Zanuso, Scientific Director, Wellness Foundation and Technogym [online]


• Roberta Frisoni, Regional Minister for Trade, Tourism and Sport, Emilia-Romagna Region


• Antonio Maturo, Professor of Sociology of Health, University of Bologna


• Liliya Mergaliyeva, Professor of Economics at West Kazakh University, Visiting Professor of Economics at Nottingham Business School, and Research Associate in Strategy at London Business School

Physical activity and exercise are not just tools for well-being — they are a form of preventive medicine and a key to healthy longevity. This is the core message of the conference “Exercise for Health – Towards Milano Cortina 2026: the value of physical activity and exercise for health,” which took place on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at 9:00 AM in the Conference Hall of Palazzo Reale in Milan.

Promoted by the Department of Welfare and Health of the City of Milan, in collaboration with Wellness Foundation and IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, and under the patronage of the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation and the Ordine dei Medici e Odontoiatri di Milano, the symposium offers a unique opportunity for dialogue among institutions, the scientific community, healthcare professionals, sports organizations, and citizens.

The conference program featured numerous experts who contributed with presentations and panel discussions on key topics such as the prevention of brain aging, the importance of cardiopulmonary testing, physical exercise as medicine for metabolic health, and the integration of physical activity in breast cancer prevention and care support.

The event, free and open to the public, featured morning sessions dedicated to doctors, healthcare professionals, and students, with the opportunity to earn Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits. Starting at 2:30 PM, the afternoon sessions were opened to a broader audience, offering in-depth discussions on topics such as regenerative therapies in sports and motor rehabilitation, joint prosthetics and functional recovery, neurostimulation for patients with paraplegia, physical activity management and prevention in women undergoing physiological changes, clinical nutrition, pain therapy, and exercise monitoring.

More info: https://www.hsr.it/eventi/2025/giugno/convegno-exercise-for-health-milano-cortina-2026

AMIS – Attività e Movimento Insieme per la Salute is a project born from the collaboration between the Wellness Foundation and the City of Milan, with the support of Fondazione di Comunità Milano. On Thursday, June 19, participants and organizers gathered in Sala Alessi at Palazzo Marino to review the initiative’s progress and explore future developments. Among the speakers were Lamberto Bertolé, Milan’s Councillor for Welfare and Health; Federica Alberti, Director of the Wellness Foundation; Francesco Caroli, Policy Advisor for the City of Milan; Francesco Scarpat, Head of Social Programs at Fondazione di Comunità Milano; and Antonio Rossi, City Operations Manager for the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation.

The AMIS project is part of the broader Milano Wellness City 2030 initiative, launched in 2023 by the Wellness Foundation to promote a new culture of healthy living and preventive care across the city. The goal is to create a lasting legacy in the lead-up to the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Following the success of its initial pilot phase, the project has been confirmed and strengthened with an extension through the autumn. Designed to promote active ageing, it tackles key challenges such as physical decline, social isolation, and unhealthy lifestyles. The initiative is active in four Neighborhood Hubs (Case di Quartiere) across Milan: “Feltre” – managed by Sorriso APS in District 3; “Caio Mario” – run by Carlo Poma APS in District 7; “Appennini” – overseen by Porta del Cuore APS in District 8; and “Val di Bondo” – coordinated by Sempreverdi APS in District 9.

For two hours each week, young trainers with degrees in exercise science lead free activities for the “amis”—meaning “friends” in Milanese—many of whom are over 80. The sessions include a muscle-activating walk, targeted physical exercises to improve strength and balance, a healthy snack break to encourage nutritious eating, and short “wellness talks” focused on the four pillars of a healthy lifestyle: physical activity, nutrition, a positive mindset, and quality sleep.

Learn more here

On 22 and 23 February 2025, the second edition of Cortina in Wellness – Winter Edition was held, the weekend dedicated to wellness in the Dolomites, organised by the Wellness Foundation with the patronage of the Municipality of Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Province of Belluno, the Veneto Region and the Cortina Foundation, in collaboration with Cortina for Us, Cortina R-Evolution and the Cortina Hoteliers Association, with the support of Cortina Marketing, the Cortina Hospital as Official Medical Partner and Technogym as Official Training Partner.

The initiative, which was the idea of Nerio Alessandri, is part of a larger project aimed at promoting the culture of healthy lifestyles and contributing to the social legacy of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics. During the two-day event, residents and tourists were offered a range of wellness experiences spread throughout the area.

The opening of the weekend was held on 21 February with the Cortina in Wellness Soirèe – Winter Edition, at the Grand Hotel Savoia in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

The event was an opportunity to present the calendar of activities of the wellness weekend, share ongoing and future projects, and to toast together all those who collaborate with the Wellness Foundation in making Cortina a Wellness Destination.

Among the speakers who took part were:

• Nerio Alessandri, President Wellness Foundation and Technogym;


• Diana Bianchedi, Chief Strategy Planning & Legacy Officer of the Milan Cortina 2026 Foundation;


• Giacomo Giacobbi, Strategic Advisor Cortina Wellness Destination;


• Roberta Alverà, Deputy Mayor of Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Find out more here

Workplaces can play a key role in promoting the adoption of an active lifestyle, with significant benefits for individual and organisational well-being. The sharing of positive experiences and concrete ideas aims to disseminate new practices and actions, also as a post-Olympic legacy.

Inspired by this principle, within the framework of Milan Wellness City 2030, on 4 December 2024 the Wellness Foundation, together with Assolombarda and Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, organised the event “Move More! Health and Movement in the Workplace”, an initiative that brought together institutions, companies and professionals to promote active lifestyles in the workplace.

The initiative was created with the aim of stimulating organisations to promote active lifestyles, fostering the well-being and health of their employees and their communities.

The testimonies of realities such as Intesa Sanpaolo, Saipem, Politecnico di Milano, SPS Italy, NTT Data and Sanofi have shown how the adoption of targeted actions can generate tangible benefits for employees, fostering individual and organisational well-being.

 

The numbers were encouraging: around 50 organisations were present at the event, targeting over 370,000 people. At the end of the event, a targeted call to action was launched on Olympic Day on 23 June.

Find out more here

As part of the Milan Wellness City 2030 project – a social initiative promoted by the Wellness Foundation to spread a new culture of wellness in Milan – the inauguration of the first Technogym Outdoor island installed inside the Indro Montanelli Gardens, in the Porta Venezia area, took place on 25 September 2024.

This innovative outdoor exercise solution, donated by Technogym as part of a collaboration with the City of Milan, is now available to all citizens, offering a unique opportunity to improve the health and well-being of the community.

The launching took place in the presence of Giovanni Malagò, President of the Milano Cortina Foundation; Elena Grandi, Councillor for the Environment and Green Areas of the Municipality of Milan; Lamberto Bertolé, Councillor for Welfare and Health of the Municipality of Milan and President of the WHO Italian Healthy Cities Network; Mattia Abdu Ismahil, President of Municipality 1 – Historical Centre; Lorenzo Pacini, Councillor of Municipality 1 – Green Areas, Roads, Housing, School Building, Youth Policies and Nerio Alessandri, President and Founder of Technogym and Wellness Foundation.

Among the guests present were Jury Chechi, former gymnast and Olympic Gold medallist in the rings speciality; Giorgia Villa, Silver Medallist in gymnastics at Paris 2024; Simone Barlaam, Gold Medallist at the Paris 2024 Paralympics; Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta, former tennis champions; triathlete Daniel Fontana; and Massimo Ambrosini and Marco Materazzi, former football glories.

Find out more here

On 14 and 15 September, Cortina in Wellness was held, the first event of the weekend dedicated to wellness in the Dolomites, organised by the Wellness Foundation with the patronage of the municipality of Cortina d’Ampezzo and the Cortina Foundation, in collaboration with Cortina for Us and Cortina R-Evolution, and with the support of the Cortina Hospital as Official Medical Partner and Technogym as Official Training Partner.

The initiative, created from an idea by Nerio Alessandri, is part of a broader project aimed at promoting the culture of healthy lifestyles and contributing to the social legacy of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics. A calendar full of wellness activities spread throughout the territory.

The Cortina in Wellness Soirèe – Summer Edition, was held on 14 September 2024 at the Grand Hotel Savoia in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

The event represented an institutional moment to present the wide-ranging Cortina in Wellness project and to toast together all those who collaborate with the Wellness Foundation in making Cortina a Wellness Destination.

Among the speakers who took part were:

• Nerio Alessandri, President Wellness Foundation and Technogym;


• Giacomo Giacobbi, Strategic Advisor Cortina Wellness Destination;


• Gianluca Lorenzi, Mayor of Cortina d’Ampezzo;


• Roberta Alverà, Deputy Mayor of Cortina d’Ampezzo;

• Stefano Longo, President Fondazione Cortina;


• Silvano Zanuso, Scientific Director Wellness Foundation and Technogym;


• Massimo Vota, Medical Director Cortina Hospital.

Find out more here

Now in its 25th edition, the Wellness Congress aims to discuss the impact of wellness and to identify pathways towards a healthier and more sustainable world, through healthy lifestyles. The 2023 edition is conceived to be a high profile educational event for general practitioners and healthcare professionals on the value of exercise for a healthy longevity.

A unique opportunity to attend scientific panels and precision training workshops with world leading experts and keep up-to-date on the cutting-edge research and practical applications in the science of exercise and longevity.

Registration is required. Please contact info@wellnessfoundation.it.

The vision of Wellness was launched by the President of the Wellness Foundation in 1993, at the trade fair in Rimini.

Since then it has become a global trend, deeply rooted in the Wellness Valley. And its benefits, in terms of healthy longevity and the sustainability of healthcare systems, are clearer and clearer.

Where do we stand today? 

The time for further evolution has come. We must move from a healthcare system focused on treatment to one focused on prevention and healthy lifestyles. How to establish an innovative model based on an alliance between the fitness world and the medical world, with benefits for all?

At the States General of Rimini Wellness, this topic will be discussed by:

Giuseppe Attisani – Collective Prevention and Public Health Sector, Emilia-Romagna Region; Andrea Ermolao – Secretary General, Exercise is Medicine Italy; Pasqualino Maietta Latessa – Coordinator of the Degree Course in Science and Techniques of Preventive and Adapted Motor Activity, Department of Sciences for Quality of Life, University of Bologna; Franco Mandolesi – Vice President of the Rimini Medical Association; Ermanno Pasini – President of the Polisportiva Garden Sporting Club. Round table coordinated by Federica Alberti, Wellness Foundation Director.

The Wellness Valley Workshop took place at Technogym Village – The Wellness Campus (Cesena) on Wednesday, February 1, 2023 from 11 am to 1 pm.

The event brought together over 250 public and private stakeholders of the Wellness Valley and it included the presentation of the fourth edition of the Wellness Valley Report.

Produced by the Wellness Valley Study Observatory, an independent organism composed of a Working Group of experts and professionals from various authorities and disciplines as a result of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Emilia-Romagna Region, Wellness Foundation and the University of Bologna, the report measures and narrates the project’s progress, highlighting the positive impact in terms of Health and Prevention, Economic Development and Tourism.

Twenty years after the project’s inception, the numbers speak for themselves: in the Wellness Valley more than half of the population is active (55% vs 46% nationally) and the percentage of sedentary adults is significantly lower than the national average (16% vs 30%); the Wellness sector in Romagna has recorded an economic growth of 31% in the period from 2011 to 2021; from a tourism perspective, the region has been able to create and attract many successful events that constantly increase the attractiveness of the area. 

It was an important meeting to take stock of the various projects launched over the years and to spread more and more the culture of Wellness, which is necessary to ensure lasting sustainable development.

 

Download the Report04

In 2015 the World Expo takes place in Milan, Italy with a focus on nutrition, energy and sustainability. On June 25th, the Wellness Foundation brings its 22nd Wellness Congress at the Universal Exposition to debate education, active lifestyle and prevention as the roadmap to economic, social and environmental sustainability. ”Feeding the Planet, Moving the Planet” is the title of the event that highlights the need to get people moving in order to build a healthy and sustainable future. 

Together with the President of the Wellness Foundation, Nerio Alessandri, a number of distinguished speakers take the floor, including: Giovanni Malagò, Chairman of the Italian National Olympic Committee, Ambassador Giovanni Castellaneta, President of the World Food Programme, Chef Davide Oldani, Marco Belinelli, NBA champion, and Maurizio Martina, Italian Minister for Expo.

During the 22nd Wellness Congress, Technogym’s social campaign “Let’s Move and Donate Food” was launched, inviting all visitors at Expo to join the campaign for a Better World and to fight malnutrition by donating their movement.

Thanks to a special agreement between Technogym and the World Food Programme, the MOVEs collected by the exhibition visitors were converted into meals to be donated to children in the poorest countries.

In 2012, chronic diseases are widely recognised as the largest cause of death in the world and a global threat to the sustainability of the Planet. Educating people to prevention through healthy lifestyles is the new challenge for world leaders. Obesity, especially childhood obesity, has become an epidemic that threatens the health of future generations.

Facing this scenario, the 42nd US President Bill Clinton chooses the stage of the 20th Wellness Congress to share the “Let’s Move for a Better World” project, Technogym’s international campaign to spread the culture of movement for prevention and the treatment of obesity and chronic diseases.

Representatives of different disciplines and countries join the Wellness Congress assembly in Cesena, Italy to share the commitment for a more equitable and sustainable development starting from Wellness, including Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Italian Republic, Renato Balduzzi, Italian Minister of Health, Corrado Passera, Italian Minister of Economic Development, Enrico Giovannini, economist and statistician, David Rowan, founding editor-in-chief of Wired, and many others.

The 20th Wellness Congress coincides with the inauguration of the Technogym Village, the first Wellness Campus in the world and a global point of reference for the culture of health. 

Wellness, the inspiring philosophy of Technogym, becomes a precise thought that applies not only to business but to a new social vision with a view to achieving a better and more sustainable future for all: a Healthy Planet starting from Healthy People.

The Technogym Village in Cesena is also the entrance gate of the Wellness Valley, the first district of wellness and the good quality of life promoted by the Wellness Foundation.

Health is Wealth. This simple, yet challenging principle is at the heart of the “Wellness Economy”, the vision that Nerio Alessandri promotes since 2003 through his commitment as President of the Wellness Foundation.

On October 18, 2003, the Wellness Foundation celebrated in Cesena, Italy the 11th edition of the Wellness Congress, significantly entitled: “Good Health pays off. Quality of life for everyone’s benefit: the community, the Government and companies”. 

The event was attended by 3,500 participants, including the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, three Ministers of the Italian Government, entrepreneurs, academics, public administrators, health experts, and exercise professionals.

 

The Congress had two main objectives: 

• to share evidence-based knowledge about the benefits of wellness for health, the economy and society; 


• to officially present the “Wellness Valley” project, the first International District for Wellness and the good Quality of Life.

The Wellness Valley is the first example of a Wellness Community. A project born from the vision of Nerio Alessandri and promoted by the Wellness Foundation, in collaboration with 250 public and private stakeholders of the Romagna region in Italy.

Since 2003, the Wellness Valley has been an important Living Lab for the promotion of healthy lifestyles, and today it is regarded as a case study and an international benchmark for the creation of effective Ecosystems of Health and Well-being.