EDMONTON (CP) _ Another major curling event is going to Italy.

Four years after Pinerolo, Italy hosted the curling at the 2006 Winter Olympics, the 2010 Ford World Men's Curling Championship is headed to Cortina D'Ampezzo.

``In Cortina curling is very, very popular,'' said Luigi Alvera, president of GIS-Cortina Sports Facilities Management.

``Cortina is actually the cradle of curling in Italy. It is people from Cortina that brought curling into Italy,'' he said. ``After the Olympics, curling spread all over Italy _ mainly northern Italy of course _ because we have ice facilities.''

The 4,000 seat arena, built for the 1956 Olympic games, is being rebuilt, said World Curling Federation president Les Harrison.

``They have such great winter facilities there and the media will be all over this one from Italy as well, so we're quite excited about that,'' Harrison said.

The last time the world championships were held in Europe was 2005 in Paisley, Scotland.

There were two serious contenders vying for the right to host 2010.

``One was from Hamburg in Germany and one was from Cortina,'' said Harrison. ``The board of directors had to assess both. Either one could have capably hosted the event but the board made the final choice that Italy was the one of choice for this particular occasion.''

Members of the Cortina committee were in Edmonton to learn how the event was being handled here.

``Of course Canada is different from Italy but we feel sure it will be a great event also in Italy,'' said Alvera.

While the deal for 2010 has been finalized, the WCF has yet to announce the site for the 2009 event being held in Canada.

It is expected the 2009 world championships will be awarded to Moncton, N.B.