Pier Luigi Nervi's Palazzetto dello Sport (little palace of sport) sits on its own small piece of land in the Flaminio district, a thing apart. It's a stone's throw (even for this tired old wing) from the Parco della Musica, so we've been by it, and around it, many times over the last few years, admiring its space-age design while wondering why the roof always seemed to need a coat of paint. Bill recalls being inside in 1962 with a touring group of Stanford students, unsure what to think of the building, which was new then, having been constructed for volleyball and other events at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Walking around the exterior, of the Palazzetto, we found an open entrance (!) and walked in. Voilà. Some very good volleyball players were practicing. We admired the space, took some pictures and, not wanting to press our luck further, left. A few hours later we photographed the same windows, from outside (photo at top). Lovely.
Bill
As noted above, the Palazzetto, and more around it, are featured in the Flaminio itinerary of our
new print AND eBook, Modern
Rome: 4 Great Walks for the Curious Traveler. Modern
Rome features tours of the "garden" suburb of
Garbatella; the 20th-century suburb of EUR, designed by the Fascists; the
21st-century music and art center of Flaminio, along with Mussolini's Foro
Italico, also the site of the 1960 summer Olympics; and a stairways walk in
Trastevere.
This 4-walk book is available in all
print and eBook formats The eBook is $1.99 through amazon.com and all other eBook sellers. See
the various formats at smashwords.com.
Modern Rome: 4 Great Walks for the Curious Traveler now is also available in print, at amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, independent bookstores, and other retailers; retail price $5.99.
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