Il centro culturale e la moschea di Roma tra natura, geometria e storia / The Cultural Centre and Mosque in Rome between nature, geometry, and history

The first project for the Mosque of Rome and its Cultural Centre, designed by Paolo Portoghesi (with V. Gigliotti and S. Mousawi), dates to 1974. Construction ended in 1995, and the mosque was inaugurated that same year. The mosque triggered extensive criticism during the two decades of its construction and afterward . Thanks to Franco Purini’s reinterpretation (Portoghesi, Coppa 2002, 9) we can finally consider the monumental Islamic complex as a new representative and symbolic centre of polarity radiating into the territory around it. In addition, we can also understand Portoghesi’s idea that the complex should not only reflect the union of two cultures but also establish a dialogue with its surroundings and the hillside behind it. He intended to combine two radically different traditions: the characteristics of Islamic architecture and the genius loci of Rome. Portoghesi also exploited Borromini’s coincidentia oppositorum to merge traditional Roman Baroque, which emphasises the tangible expression of strength with Islam’s denial of physical substance, transforming matter into light and geometry. The shape of the complex, meanwhile, comes from «listening to the place». An archaeological survey has revealed that the dome now stands on what was formerly a hillock, and the bigger hill in front of the mosque (known as Mount Antenna) appears to have been the place where the Romans kidnapped the Sabine women. The Tiber flowing next to it and the hillside behind it have created a unique green landscape. The latter inspired Portoghesi to design the tree-shaped columns, while the alternate use of the build- ing materials – tuff, peperino, brick, and white marble – was prompted by the archaeological stratification of the site.