updated 9:19 a.m. ET Feb. 26, 2006

TURIN, Italy - The Italians loved it.

They danced on their chairs, screamed their support and braved winter cold to herald the opening of the Winter Games.

Passion was the theme of Friday’s opening ceremony and passion was what poured from the audience, right up to the arrival of the Olympic torch, carried by skiing hero Alberto “La Bomba” Tomba, who ran up the stage steps and handed it off to a succession of Italian medal winners.

Ultimately it was Stefania Belmondo, a two-time gold medal winner in cross-country skiing, who touched the flame to a wire that ignited fireworks and lit the Olympic caldron.

The cheering crowd screamed its delight — just one of the many times it did so throughout the three-hour show.

But it wasn’t truly over until the big man sang.

Luciano Pavarotti performed “Nessun Dorma” from Puccini’s “Turandot,” an aria that the tenor has turned into a signature piece.

While that closing number sent spectators home happy, it was the parade of nations that really got the party going.

More than 2,500 athletes arrived to the accompaniment of chest-thumping disco ranging from “YMCA” by the Village People to “I Will Survive,” by Gloria Gaynor.

Italy, as host country, entered last and brought down the house. Dressed in silver fur-trimmed coats, they marched to the pulsating, popular Italian song “Una Donna Per Amico” (“A Woman For a Friend”). The crowd jumped to its feet, and cheered while ringing souvenir cow bells provided by show organizers.

Odd Andersen / AFP - Getty Images Italian gymnast Jury Chechi, playing a metropolitan shaman, hits the golden anvil to launch the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

“Hopefully, after such a show, Turin will no longer be seen as a drab city where you only go to sleep early and go to work in the morning,” said businessman Domenica Devietti Goggia of Turin. “We also know how to have fun.”

Second only to the audience’s reaction to Italy was the roaring welcome given to the Americans. Around the packed stadium, fans stood and clapped as “Daddy Cool” blared through loudspeakers.

More than 200 U.S. athletes, wearing black and white coats and hats of blue and red, waived and blew kisses. Giant video screens showed a smiling first lady Laura Bush.

In an unusual security move, three guards in dark suits followed the Danish team as it marched — a precaution that responded to recent violence by Muslims enraged at derogatory cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published in Danish newspapers.

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