Manuel Piazza
Manuel Piazza is an Italian pair skater who currently competes for Iceland. With his current partner, Júlía Sylvía Gunnarsdóttir, he is the 2025 Diamond Spin champion, 2025 Cup of Innsbruck bronze medalist, 2024 NRW Trophy bronze medalist and a two-time Icelandic national champion. Gunnarsdóttir and Piazza are the first pairs team to represent Iceland in international competition.
With his former partner, Anna Valesi, he is the 2024 Italian national bronze medalist and has won seven senior international medals, including silver at the 2022 Bavarian Open.
Career
Early years
Piazza began learning to skate in 2006. He placed sixth in junior men's singles at the Italian Championships in December 2016 and again in December 2017.In 2018, he teamed up with Alyssa Montan to compete in junior pairs. Making their international debut, Montan/Piazza won silver at the Inge Solar Memorial – Alpen Trophy in November 2018. The following month, they took silver in the junior event at the Italian Championships.
In their second and final season together, Montan/Piazza won the Italian national junior title and placed 16th at the 2020 [World Junior Figure Skating Championships|2020 World Junior Championships] in Tallinn, Estonia. The two were coached by Ondřej Hotárek, Luca Demattè, and Franca Bianconi in Bergamo, Italy.
Pair skating with Anna Valesi for Italy
2021–22 season
In the 2021–22 season, Piazza began competing in the senior ranks with Anna Valesi. Making their international debut, Valesi/Piazza took bronze at the Tayside Trophy in November 2021. The following month, they placed fourth at the Italian Championships.In January 2022, Valesi/Piazza were awarded silver medals at two events – the Icelab International Cup and Bavarian Open.
2022–23 season
In September 2022, Valesi/Piazza won bronze at the Lombardia Trophy and placed seventh at the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. In October, they were invited to their first Grand Prix of Figure Skating|Grand Prix] event, the 2022 Skate America, where they finished fifth. They were seventh at the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo.2023–24 season
Beginning the international season at the John Nicks Pairs Challenge, where they won the silver. They continued to the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, Valesi/Piazza finished ninth. They next competed at the 2023 Diamond Spin, where they won the bronze.On the 2023-24 [ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating|Grand Prix], they came sixth at their lone assignment, the 2023 Grand Prix de France. They were subsequently invited to the 2023 Cup of China, following the withdrawal of Americans Chan/Howe. They were sixth at that event as well.
Valesi / Piazza continued to the 2024 Italian Figure Skating Championships, where they won the bronze medal. They were assigned to the 2024 Bavarian Open, but withdrew prior to the competition. It June, it was confirmed that the pair had split.
Pair skating with Júlía Sylvía Gunnarsdóttir for Iceland
2024–25 season
In August, it was announced that Piazza had teamed up with Júlía Sylvía Gunnarsdóttir to compete for Iceland, the first ever pair to compete internationally for Iceland. They split their training between Reykjavík, Iceland with coach Benjamin Naggiar and Bergamo, Italy with coaches, Ondřej Hotárek and Rosanna Murante.Gunnarsdóttir/Piazza made their international debut in November 2024 at the 2024 NRW Trophy. They placed third in both the short program and the free skate to claim the bronze medal behind new Swiss team Oxana Vouillamoz / Tom Bouvart and Swedish sibling pair Greta Crafoord / John Crafoord. At their second international event, the 2024 CS Warsaw Cup, Gunnarsdóttir/Piazza placed twelfth.
Gunnarsdóttir/Piazza competed at the 2025 Icelandic Championships at the end of November unchallenged, winning their first national pairs title by default. Having earned their ISU technical minimum scores at the NRW Trophy, Gunnarsdóttir/Piazza were assigned to compete at the 2025 European Championships in Estonia in January. At Europeans, Gunnarsdóttir/Piazza scored a personal best of 48.58, placing eighteenth in the segment. They did not advance to the free skate portion of the competition.
2025–26 season
Gunnarsdóttir/Piazza opened their season with a fourth-place finish at the 2025 Lombardia Trophy. One week later, they placed eighth at the ISU Skate to Milano.In October, Gunnarsdóttir/Piazza competed at the 2025 Diamond Spin and the 2025 Swiss Open, winning gold and placing fifth, respectively. The following month, the pair won the bronze medal at the 2025 Cup of Innsbruck and the gold medal at the 2026 Icelandic Championships. In January, Gunnarsdóttir/Piazza placed eleventh at the 2026 European Championships, scoring personal bests in all three competition segments.