The Histories of Architecture.Engineering and architecture in Rome: the language of structures

Monday closed
Tuesday to Sunday 11 am – 7 pm
Tuesday, 1 July 7 pm > 9 pm
Wednesday, 9 July 7 pm > 9 pm
Wednesday, 16 July 7 pm > 9 pm
book online
last entrance 8 pm
– for young people aged between 18 and 25 (not yet turned 25);
– for groups of 15 people or more;
– La Galleria Nazionale, Museo Ebraico di Roma ticket holders;
– upon presentation of ID card or badge: Accademia Costume & Moda, Accademia Fotografica, Biblioteche di Roma, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Enel (for badge holder and accompanying person), FAI Fondo Ambiente Italiano, Feltrinelli, Gruppo FS, IN/ARCH Istituto Nazionale di Architettura, Sapienza Università di Roma, LAZIOcrea, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Amici di Palazzo Strozzi, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Scuola Internazionale di Comics, Teatro Olimpico, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro di Roma, Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Youthcard;
valid for one year from the date of purchase
– minors under 18 years of age;
– myMAXXI cardholders;
– on your birthday presenting an identity document;
– upon presentation of EU Disability Card holders and or accompanying letter from hosting association/institution for: people with disabilities and accompanying person, people on the autistic spectrum and accompanying person, deaf people, people with cognitive disabilities and complex communication needs and their caregivers, people with serious illnesses and their caregivers, guests of first aid and anti-violence centres and accompanying operators, residents of therapeutic communities and accompanying operators;
– MiC employees;
– journalists who can prove their business activity;
– European Union tour guides and tour guides, licensed (ref. Circular n.20/2016 DG-Museums);
– 1 teacher for every 10 students;
– AMACI members;
– CIMAM International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art members;
– ICOM members;
– from Tuesday to Friday (excluding holidays) European Union students and university researchers in art history and architecture, public fine arts academies (AFAM registered) students and Temple University Rome Campus students;
– IED Istituto Europeo di Design professors, NABA Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti professors, RUFA Rome University of Fine Arts professors;
– upon presentation of ID card or badge: Collezione Peggy Guggenheim a Venezia, Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Sotheby’s Preferred, MEP – Maison Européenne de la Photographie;
MAXXI’s Collection of Art and Architecture represents the founding element of the museum and defines its identity. Since October 2015, it has been on display with different arrangements of works.
15 Jul 2025 > 14 Sep 2025
videogalleryFUORI GIOCOArtists' gazes on the world of football
15 Jul 2025 09.00 pm
summer at MAXXI • talkIl cono d’ombra. La storia di Denis Bergaminiby Pablo Trincia
16 Jul 2025 09.00 pm
summer at MAXXI • musicKarimaCanta Autori
17 Jul 2025 07.00 pm
summer at MAXXI • talkCampioni: Vincent Candela
17 Jul 2025 09.00 pm
summer at MAXXI • cinemaAny Given Sundayby Oliver Stone
22 Jul 2025 09.00 pm
summer at MAXXI • cinemaIl campioneby Leonardo D’Agostini
23 Jul 2025 09.00 pm
summer at MAXXI • talkCampioni: Pierluigi Collina
MAXXI Auditorium – admittance €5.00; admittance to 5 seminars €20; free for myMAXXI cardholders.
The purchase of a ticket allows for reduced price museum entrance (€8) within one week of issue.
Five lectures examining the urban and architectural history of modern and contemporary Rome from 1870 to the present day
Between the middle of the 19th and the end of the 20th centuries, a school of engineering of great international standing was established in Italy, with Rome being the principal theatre of its successes. The greatest structural designers competed to design a bridge or a dome, to leave a structural mark in the eternal city: Cottrau, Porcheddu, Krall, Nervi, Morandi, Zorzi, Musmeci… This two-handed lecture explores the two centuries, telling a number of interesting stories about courageous men who enhanced with city with structural masterpieces: from the first, highly original suspension bridges over the Tiber to the epic adventure of the Ponte del Risorgimento; from the planetarium at the Terme di Diocleziano to the domes for the 1960 Rome Olympics; from the incredibly slim metro bridge through to the most recent works marked by Italian engineering’s identity crisis.
Sergio Poretti, a construction historian, won the ERC Advanced Grant in 2011 with the research programme SIXXI – the History of Structural Engineering in Italy, which he leads with a team of young researchers from the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Among other works he has published: Progetti e costruzione dei Palazzi delle Poste a Roma (1990), Il restauro delle Poste di Libera (2005), Modernismi Italiani (2008), SIXXI 1 (2014) and SIXXI 2 and SIXXI 3 (2015). He has a passion for photography, above all of Rome.
Tullia Iori teaches Technical Architecture at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. A protégé of Sergio Poretti, she has always dealt with the history of construction, and in particular the history of structural engineering. She is currently involved in the SIXXI research project. She has published a number of books and essays on the history of reinforced concrete in Italy, on Pier Luigi Nervi and his works (also co-curating the monographic exhibition at MAXXI in 2010).
The Histories of Architecture. Lectures on Rome
27 February – 14 May 2016
The first edition of The Histories of Architecture: this year the series examines the transformations in the architecture of the capital from 1870 through to the present day.
Introductions by Margherita Guccione, director MAXXI Architettura.