Marcello Piacentini e la Città Universitaria di Roma

The construction of the University City of Rome stands as one of the most sig- nificant and complex undertakings in twentieth-century Italian architecture. Fo- cusing on the role of Marcello Piacentini (1881-1960), this volume examines not only the genesis of this major urban project, but also the broader cultural, theoretical, and disciplinary debates that informed its development. Drawing on a critical analysis of Piacentini’s intellectual framework and of the dialectic between tradition and modernity, the study reconstructs the design process that led to the conception of the campus as a coherent urban organism, conceived as a ‘city within the city’. Emphasis is placed on the project’s design, including the use of perspective, the articulation of open spaces and green ar- eas, and the coordinated contributions of multiple architects within a unified masterplan. The volume further addresses the subsequent transformations of the Sapienza campus, including wartime damage and later interventions, to assess the persistence and reinterpretation of its original spatial and formal principles. Grounded in interdisciplinary research, this work offers a critical reassessment of a key episode in modern Italian architecture, contributing to ongoing scholarly discussions on urban form, architectural design, and the relationship between historical continuity and innovation.