Once the Olympics have passed, the Milan Cortina Paralympics arrive. The Winter Games package had to be characterized by sustainability and low costs. As we discovered, that wasn’t the case. Now, the Paralympic Games also present their bill: from the approximately 71 million euros initially allocated, the latest spending update is over 500 million euros. Also in this case it is an extraordinary government commissioner who deals with it, Giuseppe Fasiol. And as happened for the Olympics, most of the funds do not concern sports facilities but roads, accounting “assists” to the Milano Cortina Foundation and also 79 million for the rental of metal detectors, surveillance cameras and infrared viewers or artificial snow cannons.
The extraordinary commissioner of the Paralympics: who is Giuseppe Fasiol
There is not only Fabio Massimo Saldini, the extraordinary commissioner from the Meloni government at the head of Simico who administers almost 4 billion euros of works to be put on the ground for the Milan Cortina Olympics. There is another state manager appointed to deal with the Paralympics dossier: he is Giuseppe Fasiol.
Engineer Giuseppe Fasiol, after a long career as a manager in the infrastructure sector of the Veneto Region, was appointed in August 2025 on the recommendation of the Minister of Sport, Andrea Abodi and the Minister for Disabilities Alessandra Locatelli. Its mandate is regulated by the “Sport Decree” and the aim is to “foster social inclusion and break down social and cultural barriers by promoting the practice of sports by people with disabilities and the principles of the Paralympic movement”.
Costs rose from 71 to over 500 million euros
The initial budget made available by the government to organize the Paralympics was just over 71 million euros. The estimate was included in the bid dossier presented to the International Olympic Committee in January 2019. The latest data made available by the Extraordinary Commissioner says otherwise: the cost of the Paralympics has risen to more than 500 million euros.
Exploded costs, delayed works: how much are we really spending for the Milan Cortina Olympics (for now)
Already with the “Sport Decree” of June 2025 the funds had been increased to 328 million euros by introducing the figure of Fasiol with “special” powers. Then the exceeding of the threshold of 500 million with the new expenditure items: the 328 million became 447 to which are added the 62.712 million already foreseen in the application dossier paid by the local authorities, the Veneto Region, the Autonomous Province of Trento and the municipality of Milan. The dynamics are the same as those of the Olympics dossier, with costs rising dramatically compared to initial estimates and funds largely dedicated to infrastructure. Among these, many will see the light in the coming years, up to 2033. But how were these funds spent?
Paralympics as Olympic cash machines: snow cannons and metal detectors
A small part of the funds available to the Extraordinary Commissioner is allocated to his area of responsibility, the Paralympics. The rest all goes to Simico and the Milano Cortina Foundation. Analyzing the latest available accounting document, Fasiol’s emergency funds are in fact used to cover operating expenses, the same ones covered by Simico or the Milano Cortina Foundation.
Some examples: 1.2 million euros for the rental of snow cannons at the Livigno Snow Park, 1.8 million to set up the kitchens of the Olympic Village, including the “degreasing” systems, as well as 1.1 million for snow clearing, thermo-hydraulic management and carpet replacement. And over 79 million for X-rays and metal detectors.
The wrong calculations of Saldini and Salvini: the Cortina cable car (35 million) will not even open for the Paralympics
Added to these are the logistical and infrastructural costs to keep the Livigno Mottolino and Apollonio-Socrepes ski lifts open and functioning (1.4 million in total). The latter has not yet come into operation. The controversial bobsleigh track, the Sliding Centre, alone takes up 2.2 million in staff and maintenance.
There is also 450,000 euros for liquefied natural gas destined for the Village of Cortina. The latest payment by the Extraordinary Commissioner for the Paralympics to the Milano Cortina Foundation alone is 13.8 million euros.