The 1996 Giro d'Italia was the 79th edition of the Giro. It began on May 18 with a mass-start stage that began and ended in the Greek capital Athens. The race came to a close on June 9 with a mass-start stage that ended in the Italian city of Milan. Eighteen teams entered the race that was won by the Russian Pavel Tonkov of the Panaria-Vinavil team. Second and third were the Italian rider Enrico Zaina and Spanish rider Abraham Olano.