Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, center, holds the Olympic flame in the courtyard of Quirinale Presidential Palace in Rome as Valentino Castellani, president of the Turin 2006 Olympic Winter Games organizing committee applauds, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005. Ciampi passed the Olympic flame to Athens marathon gold medalist 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)