President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi delivers his speech in the courtyard of the Quirinale Presidential Palace in Rome Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005, during a ceremony in which Ciampi passed the Olympic flame to Olympic gold medalist in the marathon Stefano Baldini to begin the torch relay for the Turin Winter Games. The flame will cover 11,300 kilometers (7,022 miles) throughout Italy involving 10,001 torchbearers, gondolas, a Ferrari sports car and a cavalry regiment before arriving in Turin for the opening ceremony on Feb. 10th. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)