For our Celebration Issue, it’s only fitting to celebrate the one thing that brings us all together: Italy. There’s plenty of cool things that happened here this year, and clearly we aren’t the only ones who want to celebrate it: April 15th (Leonardo de Vinci’s birthday) is now national “Made in Italy” day, inaugurated this year to celebrate Italian craftsmanship and design. Though it’s hard to pick only five, scroll on for some of the best things that happened in Italy in 2024–and buon anno nuovo!

Wins at the Olympics & Paralympics
What a summer! With 402 competitors in 30 sports, Italy ranked 10th in overall medals from the 2024 Paris Olympics, taking home 39 in total: 11 gold, 13 silver, and 15 bronze. Women’s events brought the most golds, including fencing, judo, sailing, tennis, gymnastics, cycling, and volleyball, when the team edged out both the US and Brazil to claim the championship.