Location

The Ice Stadium Agorà can be easily reached either by car
(there is a parking area right across the street)

or by public transport:


by Bus: Lines 49, 54, 58, 63 or 64

by Tram: Lines 14

by Tube / Underground: Linea 1 (red) stop Primaticcio or Inganni.


Enlarge the map [top >>]

The Ice Stadium

The Agorà Ice Stadium has been operative for over 15 years, and represents today the largest structure in Milan for Ice Sports. Unique in Milan, it has an Olympic-sized rink (30x60 mts) and a capacity of 4.000 seats.
Its characteristics allow it host national and international events and welcome lovers of all ice sports. In the last year it has been visited by more that 150.000 people.
Agorà, apart from promoting all the ice sports, is also organizing and promoting events and shows which make it not just a sport centre but even a place for fun and entertainment.
Among all the hosted activities this structure, we can find the A-league hockey championship, and figure skating competitions, ice dancing, synchronized skating and short track speed skating.
Agorà promotes all these Ice sports and finds itself at the highest national and international levels amongst the figure skating departments. At present the club counts more than 300 members, with some skaters belonging to the national ice dancing team, more ones belonging to the figure skating, in addition to the short track and the synchronized skating teams.
Barbara Fusar Poli and Maurizio Margaglio, Agorà's most prestigious athletes, conquered the Grand Prix, the European title and the World Championships in 2001, and won an historical bronze medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

More info at www.stadioghiaccio.it [top >>]

Hotels

Hotel Carmen S.A.S.
Via Toscanini 2 / Via Boccaccia
20090 Trezzano sul Naviglio (Mi)
Tel. (+ 39) 02 4453086 - 48400496
Fax (+ 39) 02 4450066
Website: www.carmenhotel.it

Hotel Alga
Via del Mare 93
20142 MILANO
Tel. (+ 39) 02 8464.041

Hotel Nuovo Marghera
Via Marghera, 2
20149 Milano (MI)
Tel: (+ 39) 02.4814321
Fax: (+ 39) 02.4816043

Hotel Residence Naviglio Grande
Via Alzaia Trieste 11
Corsico (Mi)
Tel. (+ 39) 02.4471808
Fax. (+ 39) 02.45100392

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Milan

The Climate
Milan has a Mediterranean climate, but like any great conurbation, buildings and people’s concentration affects the local micro-climate. As a consequence, the weather is much more extreme. Summers can be terribly hot and wet, with temperatures rising above 86°F (30°C) in August. The mountains behind the city protect Milan from the severity of winter, but the weather is very chilly with temperatures occasionally dropping below zero. Winter also brings rains and heavy fog.

Averages in October:
Rainfall (mm/inches) 100/3.9
Min Temp (°C/°F) 8/46
Max Temp (°C/°F) 18/64

Currency
All major credit cards are accepted in Italy. The currency is the Euro (€).
BANKS: Banks are open from Monday to Friday from 8.30 to 13.30 and from 14.45 to 16.15.
MONEY EXCHANGE:
Eurochange Linate: at international arrivals, open all day from 7.00 to 24.00
Eurochange Linate: at international departures, al days from 6.00 to 22.00.
Eurochange Malpensa: Malpensa airport, open all day from 7.00 to 23.00.
Post Office - Piazza Cordusio 1, Mon-Fri 8.00-19.00, Sat 9.30-13.00.
American Express, Via Larga 4 tel. 02 721041.

Language: Italian.

Tourist infos: Milanoinfotourist

Centre Map: map

Time Zone: GMT +1 (+2 in summer)
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Public Transport

BUS / UNDERGROUND
Public transport in Milan has a single fare in the whole urban area. Tickets cost €1/each and are valid for 75 minutes on all transport lines - though they can't be used twice in the underground. Tickets are sold at news-stands, bar, tobacconist’s and automatic machines. Tickets can't be bought on board. Public Transports run from 6.00 to 24.00, but there are also several night bus lines. Touristic day tickets are available for €3 for a 24hrs pass and €5.50 for a 48hrs pass. These are available at newsagents in the underground stations, bars, tobacconist's and at the A.P.T. (agency for touristic promotion) offices in Piazza Duomo and in Central Station.
More info at: www.atm-mi.it
Underground Map: map


TAXI
Taxi in Milan are white coloured.
The base fee is €3.10; festive days have a supplement of €1.55 and there's a night supplement of € 3.10.
Radiotaxi can be booked through these phone numbers:
- Autoradiotaxi 02.85.85
- Taxi Blu 02.40.40
- Yellow Taxi 02.69.69


GETTING TO AND FROM THE AIRPORTS
Milan's airports are:
LINATE - LIN: 7km from downtown.
MALPENSA - MXP: at about 45km from downtown, in direction Varese.
Info for Aeroporti Linate and Malpensa SEA : Tel. 02 74852200 www.sea-aeroportimilano.it
Lost luggage for Linate: tel. 02 70124451.
Lost luggage for Malpensa: tel. 02 58581285 - 74854215
ORIO AL SERIO - BGY: at about 45km from downtown, in direction Bergamo.
for info: tel. 035326323 www.orioaeroporto.it

Getting into Milan from Linate
LINATE-CITY CENTER: Bus 73 A.T.M. www.atm-mi.it arriving in S. Babila (metro M1) in around. 20 min. Cost € 1,00
LINATE-CENTRAL STATION: Autostradale / Bus Starfly arriving in p.zza Luigi di Savoia (metro M1 - M3) in around. 30 min. - info: Centrale Autostradale - tel. 02 33 91 07 94 www.autostradale.it

Getting into Milan from Malpensa
MALPENSA-CITY CENTER: Malpensa Express train service arriving at Cadorna Ferrovie Nord [M1-M2 Cadorna] in around 50 min - info: Tel. 0220222 - 0227763 www.malpensaexpress.it. one-way ticket € 9.00 - children's reduced price (4-12yrs) €4.50.
MALPENSA- CENTRAL STATION: Bus Air Pullman arriving in Piazza Luigi di Savoia [M2-M3 Centrale F.S.] in around 60 minutes . info: Air Pullman - tel. 02 58583202 www.airpullman.com Cost €4.50 - leaving every 20 minutes from 05.00 to 22.30
MALPENSA-CENTRAL STATION: Malpensa Bus Express arriving in Piazza Luigi di Savoia [M2-M3 Centrale F.S.] in around 50 minutes. info: Autostradale - tel. 02 33 91 07 94 www.autostradale.it Cost €5,50 euro - leaving every 20 minutes from 05.15 to 22.25

Getting into Milan from Orio al Serio
ORIO AL SERIO-CENTRAL STATION: Autostradale www.autostradale.it bus arriving in Piazza Luigi di Savoia in around 60 minutes. info: Tel 02 33910794 Cost € 6,70 - kids (2 to 12 yrs) € 3,35


TRAINS
Info on the state train service: Ferrovie dello Stato: tel. 892021 (from Italy only) www.trenitalia.com
CENTRAL STATION: (M2-M3 Centrale F.S.) - offices opening hours: 7.00-23.00
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Useful Infos

EMERGENCY NUMBERS:
POLICE: ph.nr. 113
CARABINIERI: ph.nr. 112
FIRE FIGHTERS: ph.nr. 115
LOCAL POLICE: ph.nr. 02 77271
Foreigners and passports office - via Montebello, 26 ph.nr. 02 62265777
CAR RESQUE: A.C.I. Milano ph.nr. 803116
AMBULANCE: ph.nr. 118
ANTI-POISONING CENTRE: ph.nr. 02 66101029
24hrs PHARMACY:
Stazione Centrale, Departures Gallery, ph.nr. 02 6690935
PHARMACIES open in NIGHT SHIFTS:
P.zza Duomo, 21 ph.nr.. 02 86464832
Corso Buenos Aires, 4 ph.nr. 02 29513320
Via Boccaccio, 26 ph.nr. 02 4695281
V.le Lucania, 10 ph.nr. 02 57404805
P.zza V Giornate, 6 ph.nr. 02 55194867
Via Stradivari, 1 ph.nr. 02 29526966
Viale Ranzoni, 2 ph.nr. 02 48004681

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The Sport

Short track is a kind of skating very close to speed skating, but performed on a shorter track. In this kind of competitions a certain number of skaters - usually between 4 and 6 - skate simultaneously in an indoor ice track. Short track is one of the sports of the Winter Olympic program. The competitions take place on an oval rink that has a 364.57 feet length, on a single lane. The starts are performed on a single line. The competitions, both for ladies and men, are played on the lengths of 500 meters, 1000 meters, 1500 meters and 3000 meters.

Relay competitions are also disputed (3.000 m for Ladies and 5.000 m for Men), with teams of 4 athletes, alternating with each other ever la and a half (about 167 m), while the last two laps are skated by the same skater. The change is performed by pushing the new skater who's entering the track from the inside of the rink. The skater who has just finished his turn must move immediately away from the path, moving towards the exterior of the track, moving back to the interior of the ring only when his movements are not of obstacle for the other teams.
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The History

Short track has its origin in the mass-start speed skating competitions. This kind of skating was particularly popular in the United States and in Canada and was radically different form the "international form" where the skaters competed in pairs. At the 1032 Winter Olympics the speed skating competition were performed with a mass start. Furthermore, in North America competitions were also being held indoor - e.g. at the Madison Square Garden in New York - on smaller tracks than those used for the outdoors events. In 1967, the International Skating Union (ISU) adopted short track, but it had to wait till 1976 before the first uinternational events were organized. In 1980 in Milan were disputed the first official World Championships and in 1988 short track was introduced to the Calgary Olympics as a demonstrative sport, becoming an official Olympic discipline in 1992 in Albertville.
Nowadays the official competitions for each season are 6 World Cup Competitions, the European Championships, the World Championships, the World Team Championships, The World Junior Championships, every 2 years the Universiade, the Youth Olympic Games and every 4 years the Winter Olympic Games. Canada was the dominant country in this sport for a long time, but this discipline has recently become very popular in the Asian nations, especially in the People's Republic of China, South Korea and Japan. Thanks to smaller rinks, shorter and more spectacular competitions, short track has grown far more than speed skating.
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