Palazzetto dello Sport

Palazzetto dello Sport
PalaTiziano
Location Piazza Apollodoro
I-00199 Rome
Coordinates 41°55′47″N 12°28′15″E / 41.929617°N 12.470732°ECoordinates: 41°55′47″N 12°28′15″E / 41.929617°N 12.470732°E
Owner Municipality of Rome
Capacity Basketball: 3,500
Surface Parquet
Construction
Broke ground 1956
Built 1957
Opened 1957
Architect Annibale Vitellozzi
Structural engineer Pier Luigi Nervi
Services engineer Ingg. Nervi & Bartoli
Tenants
M. Roma Volley (2006-Present)
Pallacanestro Virtus Roma (2011-Present)

The Palazzetto dello Sport is an indoor arena located in Piazza Apollodoro in Rome, Italy. Built for the 1960 Summer Olympics and inaugurated in 1957, it has a 3,500 seating capacity for basketball games[1] and was designed by architect Annibale Vitellozzi[2] and its reinforced thin-shell concrete dome was engineered by Pier Luigi Nervi under the direction of Engineer Giacomo Maccagno.[2] The venue hosted basketball among other sports during the Olympic Games.[3] Presently, the Palazzetto dello Sport also hosts volleyball matches.

Less commonly known as the PalaTiziano[1] or PalaFlaminio,[1] the venue was constructed along with the 11,500-seat PalaLottomatica (dome also designed by Nervi) for the 1960 Summer Olympics.[2]

The arena was home to Virtus Roma from its foundation up until the early 80's, and also for a period of several years at the start of the current millennium, when the team's regular home venue of PalaLottomatica was being renovated. The arena hosted the team again starting in 2011, as PalaLottomatica had high management costs and Virtus Roma was out of Euroleague competition at the time.[4]

Design

At its inauguration, the facility incorporates a first-aid center, four groups of dressing-rooms along with an officials dressing room, a medical sports centre, a management office and a press room with 12 telephone booths, two store rooms and basement-located Heating and air-conditioning equipment.[2] Seating could be configured for 3,500 basketball spectators and up to 5,600 for boxing or wrestling spectators.[2]

The arena is constructed with a ribbed concrete shell dome 61m in diameter, itself constructed of 1620 prefabricated concrete pieces,[2] braced by concrete flying buttresses. As much of the structure was prefabricated, so that the dome was erected in 40 days.[5]

See also

Norfolk Scope, also by Nervi

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 I NUMERI DEL PALATIZIANO
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "The XVII Olympiad Rome 1960, Volume I, The Official Report of the Organizing Committee p59". Federal Register May 4, 07 p.25485.
  3. 1960 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. pp. 60, 62.
  4. http://www.virtusroma.it/ticketing/il-palazzetto-dello-sport/ Virtus Roma home arena
  5. Fletcher, Banister; Palmes, J.C. (1975). A History of Architecture. Charles Scriber's Sons. p. 1264. ISBN 0-684-14207-4.

External links

Preceded by
Real Madrid Pavilion
Madrid
FIBA Intercontinental Cup
Final Venue

1967
Succeeded by
The Spectrum
Philadelphia