VIADUCT OF THE MAGLIANA DISTRICT

VIADOTTO DELLA MAGLIANA
Autostrada Roma - Aeroporto

1965 Riccardo Morandi (1902/89)
Built in the bend of the Tiber River, where the Magliana district is at beginning of the Rome-Fiumicino highway

“On June 28, 1965 a landslide, extended in width for about 200 meters, hit the Magliana bend of the River Tiber and the motorway bridge still under construction at the time. The designer Riccardo Morandi - commissioned by ANAS to remedy - identified two possible solutions: either rebuilding the ruined stretch, with a deck based on sets of poles inserted in the ground in great depth; or cross over the whole area of the landslide with a suspension bridge with a single arch. ANAS chose the second option, the most ambitious and never attempted in Rome until then” (Antonella Anappo - Il Ponte Morandi, Monografia)

“In a continuous research, which does not consider technology for its own sake and at the same time is devoid of formal preconceptions, Morandi designed works marked by a perfect balance between functionality, rigor of structural solutions and quality of the final image. (...) He studied the prestressed concrete, developing a system, for which in 1948 won the first of seven patents related to his name” (Enciclopedia Treccani)

St. MARY OF THE REDEEMER

S. MARIA MADRE DEL REDENTORE

Viale Duilio Cambellotti 18 - Tor Bella Monaca

1985/87 Pier Luigi Spadolini (1922/2000) with structures by Riccardo Morandi (1902/89)

“The shape of the church is a message of hope for the parishioners, but also for the distracted motorists whizzing on the large avenue of Tor Bella Monaca: it seems to say to the prostrate man: 'Raise your head again, look up to the Lord who raises up those who have fallen (...)'. But there are two more possible interpretations. Seen from afar, our church (...) looks like a big tent. It is the tent that God has planted in the midst of his people. (...) God has pitched a tent at Tor Bella Monaca also, and the house of God is the home of all his children. In the shape of the building can also be seen two hands as in the characteristic gesture of the Christian prayer” (Official Website of the Parish of St. Mary Mother of the Redeemer - www.smmr.it)

“A technical solution makes possible that the two pinnacles would trace a cross on their summit visible only when it is crossed by the light of the sun. (...) The structure, which is the real innovative element of the building, is built in panels of precast reinforced concrete. Architect Spadolini was indeed one of the first engineers in Italy to use this type of construction. This expertise is perceived in the particular arrangement of the panels, placed in a staggered position with respect to each subsequent one” (Massimo Alemanno)

Huge and amazing group of wooden sculptures behind the ALTAR with “Crucifixion with Virgin Mary and St. John” 1987 by Mario Ceroli (1938)

It is about 15 m (50 feet) high and it is made ​​out of pine wood from Russia

Mario Ceroli wanted to quote the Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta in the likeness of Our Lady and Pope John Paul II in those of St. John

The other sculptures and original wooden ornaments (including the amazing two small houses for face to face confession, without partitions) are by Mario Ceroli

“After an initial activity as a potter in the studio of Leoncillo in Rome, he has been sharing the experiences of Neo-Dadaist and of the so-called 'Arte Povera' (Poor Art), identifying an original line of research that focuses on raw wood as expressive material in a formal style rigorous and complex: silhouettes of projected and cut figures, presented in an obsessive iteration, connected to a space that becomes an essential theme, drawn with gouache and ink” (Enciclopedia Treccani)

BUILDING WITH GARAGE AND MARKET

EDIFICIO CON AUTORIMESSA E MERCATO

Via Magna Grecia 40

1956/57 Riccardo Morandi (1902/89)

The front of the building is sawtooth shaped corresponding to the arrangement of the parking spaces

Excellent parking solution in elevation, which unfortunately has not been much imitated in Rome where building underground parking lots in such a rich archaeological area is an absurd and extremely costly habit

"In an interview given to the magazine Domus (October 1984) he made clear that to solve the same structural problem there are many ways, all of them valid from the static, economic and functional points of view, but the final choice, according to his view, it's up to the designer and it regards the aesthetic and social aspects giving character and beauty to the work. a vision diametrically opposite to that of Pier Luigi Nervi who, although he belonged to the same cultural environment, declared that a correct structure is automatically beautiful" (Alessandra Capanna - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

MAESTOSO MOVIE THEATER

CINEMA MAESTOSO 

Via Appia Nuova 416

1956 Riccardo Morandi (1902/89)

It was the first multiplex cinema in Rome. The building includes a gym, two shops and fourteen apartments

"Morandi is operating in one of the areas most affected by the wild expansion of the city, on the Via Appia Nuova, where, as noted by Zevi, the rare attempts of qualified architecture are off-key, and after a few months, end up becoming ridiculous" (Achille Ippolito - Mario Pagnotta)