Roma, Città Sportiva - Global Rome: Changing Faces of the Eternal City - page 152

of american influence over italian society and its cultural development in par-
ticular (forgacs 1990, forgacs and Gundle 2007, scrivano 2005). whereas italian
cinema suffered considerably following the repeal of fascism's 1938 monopoly
law and the subsequent influx of hollywood b movies that had been stockpiled
over the years, italian sport has resisted u.s. influence arguably more than any
other cultural form. however, with new out-of-town stadiums being proposed
across the country, it is questionable how long some of the intrinsically italian
aspects of the stadium and football will remain.
Juventus's new ground in turin, inaugurated in september 2011, is now gen-
erally considered to be the model to which italian clubs must aspire. Containing
a shopping center and a museum, it was envisaged that the stadium would be
hired for corporate events and used seven days a week. built on land acquired
from the city, Juventus's own venue has certainly allowed the club to begin mak-
ing the sort of profits that will enable it to be competitive on a european level
once again. Yet the multisport, multiuse, out-of-town stadium is not a new con-
cept in italy, with bologna's 1928 stadio littoriale being a case in point. Despite
having been lauded for its innovation, beyond football, the concept failed and the
stadium was rarely full.
with both Roman clubs now proposing fifty-thousand-plus-seat venues in
the lazio countryside, which will include shopping malls and housing complex-
es, one wonders if their fans are ready for such grand plans. even if america's
influence upon italian life might make such moves logical, the practice may well
be different. either way, there can be no doubt that lazio's and Roma's abandon-
ing of the urban center will once again have a major psychological and physical
impact upon the future of this sport city.
Notes
1. approximate translations for these organizations' names are: tiber Gymnastics and
Rowing Club (società Ginnastica dei Canottieri del tevere), Rowing society (Circolo del
Remo), Royal tiber Rowing Club (Reale Circolo Canottieri tevere Remo).
2. The population of Rome reached 1 million inhabitants in 1931 and 1.4 million by 1941. by
the end of fascism, the population had doubled with respect to that of 1922 (insolera 1962).
3. all translations are my own unless otherwise indicated.
References
bale, John. 1993. Sport, Space and the City. london: Routledge.
benedetti, arrigo. 1960. “un record italiano. affari e olimpiadi.” L' E s p r e s s o , 21 august.
boccacci, paolo. 2011. “la città dello sport, l'incompiuta dove svetta la Vela di Calatra-
va.” La Repubblica, 17 July. http://roma.repubblica.it/cronaca/2011/07/17/news