On the outskirts of Milan lorries come and go from a site beside the railway tracks where the final touches are being put to six elegant beige and cream apartment blocks. At the end of January thousands of athletes will arrive and the site will become an Olympic Village. The 2026 Winter Games are due to start here on February 6th.

在米兰郊外，铁路轨道旁的一处工地，卡车来来往往，工人们正为六栋优雅的米色与奶油色公寓楼进行最后的收尾工作。 1月底，数千名运动员将抵达这里，该工地届时将变身奥运村。 2026年冬奥会定于2月6日在此拉开帷幕。

Milan is scarcely an obvious venue. It sits north of the River Po in the longest, broadest valley in Italy. The highest point in the city is just 122 metres above sea level. So it will host the skating events, including ice hockey at two venues, one of which is running nail-bitingly late. Most of the Olympic and Paralympic competitions will be held at various towns in the Alps.

米兰绝非显而易见的冬奥会举办地。 它坐落于意大利最长、最宽的山谷——波河谷以北。 这座城市的最高点海拔仅122米。 因此，米兰将承办滑冰赛事，包括在两个场馆举行的冰球比赛，其中一个场馆的完工时间紧迫得令人揪心。 大部分奥运会和残奥会比赛将在阿尔卑斯山脉的各个城镇举行。

Yet only one of these resorts, Cortina d'Ampezzo—a five-hour drive away—features in the Games' official title. The winter playground of Italy's bankers, industrialists and entertainers, it has been entrusted with the curling, sliding events (bobsleigh, skeleton and luge) and some of the skiing. The women's downhill and super-G will be on the intimidating Olympia delle Tofane run, where skiers plunge between rocks down a slope with a 64% gradient known as the Schuss.

然而，这些滑雪胜地中，只有一处——距米兰五小时车程的科尔蒂纳丹佩佐——出现在冬奥会的官方名称中。 这里是意大利银行家、实业家和演艺界人士的冬季度假胜地，被委以承办冰壶、滑行项目（有舵雪橇、 俯卧式雪橇和无舵雪橇）以及部分滑雪赛事的重任。 女子速降滑雪和超级大回转比赛将在令人望而生畏的奥林匹亚托法内赛道举行， 这条赛道坡度高达64%，被称为“舒斯坡”，滑雪者们将在岩石间飞驰而下。

Why the focus on Cortina? Because, like Milan, it is a byword for ritzy wealth. The winter games here in 1956 were attended by Sophia Loren; George Clooney is a repeat visitor. In the resort's Cianderies district, with its mesmerising views of the Dolomites, a three-bedroom flat sold two years ago for €6.5m ($7.6m). At five-star accommodation such as the Hotel Ancora a room can go for €1,500-2,000 a night.

为何如此看重科尔蒂纳？ 因为和米兰一样，它也是奢华富贵的代名词。 1956年在这里举办的冬奥会，索菲亚·罗兰曾亲临现场；乔治·克鲁尼也是这里的常客。 在科尔蒂纳奇安德里斯区，多洛米蒂山脉的美景令人心醉神迷，两年前，一套三居室公寓以650万欧元（760万美元）的价格售出。 在像安科拉酒店这样的五星级住宿场所，一晚的房价可达1500至2000欧元。

This makes Cortina a perfect partner for the Milan that has taken shape since 2017, when a tax break devised by the government of Matteo Renzi, a centre-left prime minister, began luring the very rich to Italy. Anyone content to pay an annual €100,000 on their non-Italian income was welcome. The figure was later upped to €200,000 and the 2026 budget proposes raising it to €300,000. Official records of the number of takers are outdated and incomplete. Filippo Molinari of Withers, a law firm, puts it between 5,000 and 10,000.

这使得科尔蒂纳与自2017年以来逐渐成型的米兰堪称绝配。 当时，中左翼总理马泰奥·伦齐政府出台的一项税收优惠政策，开始吸引超级富豪们涌入意大利。 任何愿意每年为非意大利收入支付10万欧元的人，都受到欢迎。 后来，这一金额提高到了20万欧元，而2026年预算案提议将其提升至30万欧元。 官方记录的受惠人数已过时且不完整。 律师事务所Withers的菲利波·莫利纳里估计，人数在5000至10000之间。

Geraldine Semeghini, who runs a property agency, reckons that about 80% of them came to Milan and doubts the proposed tax-rate increase will stem the flow. The arrival of so many ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs in the jargon) is having a profound effect. Milan has acquired new clubs, admittance to which depends not on membership of the local aristocratic and financial elites but the ability to pay eye-wateringly costly subscriptions. Several new private schools have opened or are planned.

经营一家房地产中介公司的杰拉尔丁·塞梅吉尼认为， 其中约80%的人来到了米兰，并且她怀疑拟议的税率上调不会阻挡这一潮流。 如此多的超高净值人士（UHNWIs，行业术语）的涌入，正产生着深远影响。 米兰涌现出了新的俱乐部， 入会条件并非取决于是否属于当地贵族或金融精英阶层，而是能否支付高昂的会费。 几所新的私立学校已经开学或正在规划中。

"I should be excited," says Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte, whose business relies on just the sort of high rollers who are making Milan their new home. He founded and manages Nomad, a travelling fair that showcases collectible design and contemporary art. "But I used to be able to go to my favourite restaurant without a reservation and now I need to call days, if not weeks, in advance."

“我本该感到兴奋的，”尼古拉斯·贝拉万斯-勒孔特说道，他的生意依赖的正是那些将米兰作为新家的超级富豪们。 他创立并管理着Nomad，这是一个巡回展览，展示收藏级设计和当代艺术。 “但我以前去我最喜欢的餐厅无需预订，现在却不得不提前几天，甚至几周打电话预约。”

He is not the only one with reservations. Property prices have soared, pulled up by demand at the top end—and, recently, the effects of a real-estate scandal. In October prosecutors asked for 36 people to be tried in connection with alleged irregularities in granting permission to build a huge residential complex. Investigations into other developments have led to the arrest, and subsequent release, of the head of the firm that built the Olympic Village. He denies wrongdoing. The investigations have caused work to be halted on several projects intended to increase the city's housing stock and mitigate the rise in prices. Developers complain that other projects are paralysed because city officials, wary of future prosecutions, fear signing additional building permits.

心存疑虑的不止他一人。 房价因高端需求而飙升，而最近的一起房地产丑闻更是推波助澜。 10月，检察官要求对涉嫌违规批准建造一座大型住宅综合体的36人进行审判。 对其他开发项目的调查已导致奥运村建设公司的负责人被捕，不过随后又被释放。 他否认有任何不当行为。 这些调查已导致多个旨在增加城市住房供应、缓解房价上涨压力的项目停工。 开发商抱怨称，其他项目也陷入瘫痪，因为城市官员担心未来被起诉，不敢签署额外的建筑许可证。

Not that any of this is terribly likely to deter the UHNWIs. "We are getting calls every week for properties in the €5m to €30m range," says Ms Semeghini. "And most recently we have had inquiries from private offices outside Europe." In Milan, everyone is going for gold.

不过，这一切都不太可能阻挡超高净值人士们的脚步。 “我们每周都会接到咨询，询问价格在500万至3000万欧元之间的房产，”塞梅吉尼女士说， “而且最近我们还接到了来自欧洲以外私人机构的咨询。”在米兰，人人都在争夺“金牌”。