Salt Lake man participates in the 2006 Olympics

SALT LAKE CITY — "It was exciting to be a part of the Torino Olympics," said Dennis Brunatti, a member of St. Ann Parish.

Brunatti was selected to participate in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy, as a volunteer in the media center called the Olympic News Service (ONS). He provided news coverage of all Olympic game activities to the worldwide news media. The ONS staff was made up of about 250 people, of which half were volunteers from all over the world and the other half were journalists. The staff covered the venue sites to report information back to the main media center.

Brunatti also volunteered in the main media center during the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. He volunteered with his mother, Ida Brunatti, who celebrated her 95th birthday in March. In 2002, Brunatti also worked in security, making sure accreditations were appropriate for individuals to get into the various areas including the media center for the United States, the international center, and the NBC (National Broadcasting Company) gate.

When Brunatti applied to volunteer for the 2006 Winter Olympics, he indicated he had volunteered in the 2002 Olympic media center, he comes from Italian ancestry, he has cousins who live in the Torino area, and he speaks a little Italian. Because of his background, he was selected to work in media operations. Brunatti worked in Lingotto, in the southwest part of Torino, compiling all the records for the various start/finish lists, time trials, and venue time lists, which he then forwarded to the press covering the 2006 Olympic Games.

"Several times a day press conferences were held, after which I would write a news flash to be edited by the journalists and put in the system," said Brunatti. "One of the press conferences was attended by the chief medical practitioners from the various Olympic teams, who discussed the changes in medical technology. Experts showed a computerized system that could scan an athlete by ultra sound to detect the severity of an injury. The scanned information could then be electronically sent to medical practitioners anywhere in the world to make the final determination of whether or not the athlete could perform in his or her next event, and the necessary medical treatment to be applied to the injury. The athlete being scanned during this press conference was Apolo Anton Ohno, the U.S. speed skater who won a gold medal in the men’s 500 meter."

Brunatti worked with a group of Italians in the media center who spoke very little English, so the Italian he does know was much needed.

"A friend of mine put me in touch with Luigina and Giancarlo Ferrero, who hosted me," said Brunatti. They are retired and live in San Mauro, a suburb of Torino. They spoke very little English, but provided me with a spacious and elegant apartment overlooking the largest hill in the Torino area on which stands the Basilica of Superga. The Ferreros gave me a tour of the historic sites of Torino, and prepared meals for me that are unique to the Piedmont region of Italy."

Brunatti said Torino is a quintessential Baroque city, with castles, palaces, and basilicas. Torino is also known as Turin. On rare occasions, the Cathedral of Torino displays the Shroud of Turin. Torino was designed by architects summoned by the House of Savoy to create works unique to the Piedmont region. Torino is noted for its fine food including polenta, bunga caulda, and baccala (made with dried cod fish). The area is also noted for its chocolate, pastries, and wine.

Brunatti’s maternal grandmother grew up in Montalenghe, Italy, just 30 miles outside of Torino. While he was in Torino, he was able to visit with cousins. One of his favorite memories is the seven-course meal his cousins prepared for him, which took three hours to consume.

The Ferreros introduced Brunatti to Mayor Giacomo Coggiola of San Mauro, Italy. The mayor invited Brunatti to tour the city offices. Mayor Coggiola indicated a desire to make Salt Lake City a sister city to Torino. Brunatti has been in contact with Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson to see if he can assist in making this happen.