in Florence, even the stadium is a work of art
Florence, May 21 – Palazzo Vecchio is the political symbol of Florence. But not only that, as history and living art within it: the ruins of an ancient Roman theater on which the imposing construction embellished, still medieval today, by Renaissance architectural transformations rests. Among the works of Michelangelo and Vasari, in the frame of the Salone dei Cinquecento, a few weeks ago the project for the renovation of the city stadium was unveiled to the public – in the presence of Antognoni and Batistuta, two Florentine football artists. Net of any opinion on the matter, between saying and doing in any case – we have also seen it with the events of the “new” San Siro – there is the sea involved and from here to when the Artemio Franchi stadium it will have finished the restructuring work (probably) some water will have passed under the bridges of the Arno.
Florence, a new stadium for a growing passion
To understand the importance and particularities of the structure, protected by the Fine Arts and still today among the most important of the Italian architectural heritage, it is necessary to take a few steps back, at least until the second half of the twenties of the last century. We are in 1926 when the aristocrat Luigi Ridolfi da Verrazzano – a fighter in the Great War, futurist and sports pioneer – founded the Fiorentina. The growing enthusiasm for this later practice of historic football therefore necessitates the construction of a new and adequate facility. To give shape to the project is Pier Luigi Nervi, an engineer who will make himself known to the world with this work. presented in 1929 and officially presented the following year, the stadium was named after Giovanni Bertayoung man killed (stabbed and then thrown from the parapet of a bridge) by communist militants.
Sport and architecture: attention to detail
Being intended for the game of football, particular attention is paid to both the turf and the substrate of the soil (the drainage system is excellent in this sense). The athletics track was also initially present: eliminated on the occasion of the 1990 World Cup, its straight of over 200 meters gives the facility the characteristic D-shape which will also be an inspiration for other stadiums, including the Bombonera of Buenos Aires. About the plant: according to the chronicles of the time, the fact that it took up the fourth letter of the alphabet would be nothing more than a tribute to the then head of the government.
But today’s Franchi (since 1991 it has been named after the “best manager” of our football) is a symbol of Italian primacy also for architecture And cementitious techniques. Access to the curves and to the Maratona grandstand – where the tower of the same name explodes in all its verticality – is allowed by helical staircases while the monumental entrance acts as a counterbalance to the elegant cantilevered canopy: a graphic reproduction of the single sector (hitherto) covered is also stamped in the passport.
National Invitation
Two editions of the world championships, the 1960 Olympics and the 1968 European Championship. The “Berta” – then Municipal from ’45 to ’91 – like every other monument self-respecting hosted the major football competitions organize in our country. Last but not least, the Florentine plant is also one fortress for the Italian selection. Since the first meeting in May 1933 (2-0 to Czechoslovakia) in almost ninety years it has hosted our national team for 30 matches. The result? 22 wins and 8 draws. History, beauty and identity: a stadium born for the Violet who can also be dyed blue.
Marco Battistini