EUR

Elegant architectures, wide roads and rationalist buildings: these are the features of EUR, a district in the southwest of Rome, designed to host the 1942 Roman Universal Exposition, that did not take place due to the outbreak of the Second World War. A group of architects coordinated by Marcello Piacentini developed the original project with a pentagonal plan on the model of ideal cities. The area was chosen in anticipation of the expansion of the city towards the coast.

"Un popolo di poeti di artisti di eroi di santi di pensatori di scienziati di navigatori di trasmigratori" (a people of poets, artists, heroes, saints, thinkers, scientists, navigators, and transmigrants) is the famous inscription on the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, also known as Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro, an architectural icon of the Roman 20th century. It is also called the "Square Colosseum"; of its famous Roman ancestor resumes the tight sequence of arches, repeated 216 times in the four equal façades. In a symmetrical position is the Palazzo dei Congressi, on the opposite side of Via Cristoforo Colombo. Designed in the late 1930s by Adalberto Libera, it is a fusion of neoclassic and functionalist styles.

A little further ahead, in the centre of Piazza Guglielmo Marconi, stands the obelisk of the same name, created by Arturo Dazzi and dedicated to the famous Italian physicist. Beside are the buildings that house the MuCiv - Museo delle Civiltà collections.

A few steps away, the contemporary architecture of one of the most scenic structures in the Capital, the Rome Convention Center La Nuvola, a steel and glass masterpiece by architect Massimiliano Fuksas, stands out.

On the highest point of the district is the harmonious Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. Characterized by a hemispherical dome with a diameter of 32 meters, it represents one of modern Rome's finest examples of architecture.

The area has numerous green spaces, including the vast Eur Central Park with the enchanting Lake. The Passeggiata del Giappone (Japan Promenade), designed by Raffaele de Vico, is splendid, absolutely romantic during the Hanami, the cherry blossoms in Spring. A real jewel of landscape architecture, created by de Vico himself, is the Garden of the Waterfalls - Giardino delle Cascate - a beautiful mix of jumps and jets of water, cliffs, natural stones, and plants of different species.

An open-air set loved by great masters of cinema, such as Fellini and Antonioni, the EUR district is an evocative combination of history, glamour and entertainment. Here, you can make elegant purchases in the many shops of Viale Europa, have few hours of leisure at the Luneur Park, attend the shows and concerts at Palazzo dello Sport, or enjoy a cocktail and fine food in the numerous trendy bars and restaurants.