Mario Ceroli's 'Goal' sculpture in Rome has been abandoned for 16 years

Mario Ceroli's monumental sculpture 'Goal', created for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, has been neglected for 16 years. The 35-ton, 16.5-meter-high pine wood and galvanized steel structure, painted copper red, was originally installed at EUR in Rome and later moved to Piazza Apollodoro in 2001. After a 2011 intervention by Rome's Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, no further maintenance occurred. The work has suffered from weather damage, vandalism, and lack of upkeep, surrounded by dry flowerbeds, weeds, trash, and illegal billboards. The sculpture was donated to the city and was intended as a temporary installation, but no long-term conservation plan was established. The surrounding Olympic Village area, near MAXXI and Auditorium Parco della Musica, remains degraded despite potential redevelopment projects that stalled under Mayor Virginia Raggi's administration. Ceroli, associated with Arte Povera, envisioned the work as a community-oriented public art piece.