Carmelo Battaglia's video unveils Rome's forgotten architectures

Artist Carmelo Battaglia spent four months filming abandoned architectural sites across Rome for his video "Le Città Invisibili di Roma." The work captures the incomplete Città dello Sport di Tor Vergata, featuring Santiago Calatrava's iconic "Vela," which was meant to open for the 2009 World Aquatics Championships; the decaying Stadio Flaminio by Antonio and Pier Luigi Nervi; the Corviale housing complex; the Tor di Valle racetrack; the halted Z2 and Z3 mixed-use construction at Piazza dei Navigatori; and the experimental "Casa Albero" in Fregene, completed in the 1960s by Giuseppe Perugini, Raynaldo Perugini, and Uga De Plaisant. At EUR, Massimiliano Fuksas's Nuovo Centro Congressi has finally been completed and is undergoing testing, expected to be operational within six months. Battaglia used black-and-white footage with variable frame durations (5 to 45 seconds), edited to reveal sites often overlooked. The project presents these places as "invisible cities"—abandoned, marginalized, yet retaining sublime beauty—and argues they could become catalysts for urban, economic, and social renewal. The article was written by Valentina Silvestrini.