Current name: Sports Field
Original name: Sports Field

City: Tresigallo (FE) (ITA)
Address: Via Dello Sport No. 2

Year of construction: 1937-1939
Designer: Carlo Frighi, based on an idea by Edmondo Rossoni
Clients: Public
Architectural style: Rationalist – Monumental Lictor

Interior visitable: Yes
Notes: The Sports Field is included in a dedicated itinerary in this guide
Superintendency restrictions – historical and artistic significance
The red writing is painted on the wall

The entrance to the Tresigallo Sports Field transports us, like a black and white newsreel, to the monumentality that the regime wanted to attribute to public buildings after 1936. In that year, after the colonial conquests, Rome transformed from the capital of the kingdom of Italy to the capital of the fascist empire. Rationalism merged with monumentality creating a simplified Classicism that Mussolini and the hierarchs liked so much. It is that architectural style that we want to call monumental Littorio.

In its linearity and apparent simplicity, the entrance to the Tresigallo Sports Field exudes a rich and refined symbolism. First and foremost, it evokes the Roman spirit envisioned by the Duce: an inspiration heightened by its resemblance to the 4th-century triumphal Arch of Constantine. Then there’s the guarantor and admonishing presence of the Fascist state, the great value of sport, the power of the empire, and modernity. The rounded layout, which follows the roundabout, also emphasizes the welcoming nature of a place dedicated to young people and the celebration of physical fitness. It is therefore a building of great symbolic value. It must also be remembered that this splendid structure was the last one Rossoni completed in his personal project of refounding the city before being dismissed from his post as Minister by the Duce. For this reason, it likely symbolizes the personal character of the Tresigallo hierarch more than any other. Its location at a major and busy traffic intersection underscores its propaganda intentions.

The ticket office and the stadium lighting control rooms were created within the same building. The colonnade and architraves are constructed of reinforced concrete. The exterior is finished with Travertine marble slabs. The roof is flat. During the restoration, the words “Campo Sportivo” and “Cassa” were painted red directly onto the stone, as in the original version.