Ingegneria nell’area del Castro Pretorio. Note su alcuni disegni piacentiniani

This chapter addresses the longstanding question of the location and architec- tural development of the Faculty of Engineering within Sapienza University of Rome, focusing on a corpus of unbuilt projects for the Castro Pretorio area. Following the institutional reorganisation of 1935, the inadequacy of the his- torical headquarters at San Pietro in Vincoli prompted proposals for relocation. The Castro Pretorio site emerged as a strategic and widely debated option, ow- ing to its centrality and urban potential. Through the analysis of archival draw- ings—primarily by Marcello Piacentini, in collaboration with Cesare Valle and Francesco Guidi—the chapter reconstructs several design phases between 1941 and 1953, highlighting the evolution of both urban and architectural solutions. These range from monumental, Renaissance-inspired schemes to more compact post-war proposals, contributing to a broader understanding of unrealised plan- ning scenarios and of the development of Rome’s university system.