MILAN (MNTV) — As Italy hosts this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the global sporting event is unfolding alongside Ramadan, the Islamic holy month marked by fasting from dawn to sunset, nightly prayers and communal gatherings.
The overlap has placed Muslim athletes, workers and residents in a unique position — balancing the intensity of the Games with the spiritual rhythm of Ramadan.
In Milan, one of the two host cities, Ramadan is being observed in a multicultural urban setting. The city is home to a significant Muslim population and multiple Islamic centers.
The Al-Wahid mosque, located near the Navigli district and officially recognized as a place of worship since 2000, has opened its doors for iftar meals and evening prayers throughout the holy month.
On Fridays during Ramadan, the mosque hosts larger congregational prayers and has in recent years welcomed guests from local institutions and other faith communities.
Community leaders say such initiatives aim to foster understanding at a time when global tensions and migration debates continue across Europe.
At sunset, worshippers gather shoulder to shoulder, breaking their fast with dates and water before sharing simple meals and performing night prayers.
According to 2025 estimates by the Milan-based migration research institute ISMU, nearly 400,000 Muslims live in Lombardy, the region that includes Milan and has Italy’s largest immigrant population. Many trace their roots to Morocco, Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bosnia.
Further north in Cortina d’Ampezzo — a mountain town hosting Olympic events at an elevation of around 1,200 meters — access to prayer spaces is more limited. The town has just over 5,000 residents and no formal mosque.
Several Muslim workers and visitors told media outlets that they have struggled to find nearby places to pray, with some traveling more than an hour to the town of Brunico, where a small prayer space serves the local Muslim community.
Friday prayers there draw around 100 worshippers, who gather in a rented hall sustained by community donations.
While interfaith prayer rooms are available inside Olympic residential villages for athletes, they are not open to the wider public.
Italy remains predominantly Catholic, but its Muslim population has grown to an estimated 1.7 million people.
As Ramadan unfolds alongside the Games, many Muslims say they are finding ways to maintain their faith practices — whether in major cities or remote mountain towns — underscoring the country’s evolving religious landscape.