The Foro Italico: Roman Sports Venues After The Colosseum

Now that I'm back to and settled in again in Roma, I'm continuing my efforts to see some of sites beyond the major tourist attractions.  I went to a good one on Sunday.  It combines sports and more of the grandiose architecture from the Mussolini Fascist period.  (See, e.g., my report on EUR from August 27th.)  Sports in Rome did not stop with the gladiators.

The Foro Italico is a sports complex that was built between 1928 and 1938.  Mussolini commissioned the complex, and it was originally called the Foro Mussolini (or "Mussolini's Forum").  There have been modern additions made to it in recent decades, and major sporting events like the Olympics in 1960 and annual international tennis tournaments are held here.  All in all, strolling around the Foro Italico on a sunny mid-70s fall Sunday was a delight.

The interesting architecture starts when you cross the Tiber on the newest of Rome's many bridges that span the river.  To get to the Foro Italico, you cross over the Ponte della Musica.  This might be Rome’s most controversial bridge; it is at least the most unique.  And it’s no surprise that this bridge caused controversy when it was built from 2008-2011: to my knowledge, ALL modern architecture in Rome is controversial.  Here’s how different the Ponte della Musica looks:

Right after crossing the bridge, you enter the Foro Italico.  The first neat venue is a very modern tennis stadium.  The place was virtually empty when I walked by – but it was also open.  And when I walked up the stairs, I saw that it was not completely empty.  Two older guys were hitting strokes and working on their serves.

There is then a ceremonial-type area lined with big marble statues of athletes, and a modern-looking stadium where many concerts are held.  

But the highlight of the Foro Italico is clearly the Stadio dei Marmi.  This track/little stadium is ringed by a whole bunch of statues of hyper-muscular athletes.  The huge white marble statutes give the place a magnificently grand -- although ostentatious -- feel of which I’m sure Mussolini approved.  The Stadio dei Marmi in particular is worth seeing.