Stadium: The Marble Stadium

Built in February 1932 in the Monte Mario district by the architect Enrico Del Debbio (1891-1973), the marble stadium, designed on the Greek model with two parallel sides connected by a semi-circular arch, was to serve as a training venue for students at the Physical Education Academy, also built by Del Debbio and later equipped with an indoor swimming pool decorated with mosaics by Angelo Canevari. Sixty sporting giants in Carrara marble, four meters high for the statue plus one meter twenty for the base, crown its stands. In December 1929, the order for the statues was announced through a public competition, each being financed by a province of Italy. Genoa, Naples and Livorno offer the rowers, helmsmen, swimmers and divers; Bolzano, a skier, with an uneven distribution between the different sculptors. The colossal size of the athletes, intended to make sport an example of civic virtue, requires the photographer to take dizzying low-angle shots. These photos were taken by Patrick Sarfati during a stay in Rome in the 1980s.

23 x 31 cm

96 pages

72 black and white illustrations

ISBN: 978-2-9092-8374-6

Text in French only