Fencing Academy

Luigi Moretti – House of Arms, Rome Foro Italico Italy, 1934-1936

The Fencing Academy, also known as the House of Arms, is a sports building in the Foro Italico complex in Rome. Designed by architect Luigi Moretti in 1934 as the Casa del Balilla sperimentale, completed in 1936 it was assigned to the discipline of fencing, taking the name of Casa delle Armi and then Accademia della Scherma. In 1981 it was adapted to a bunker courtroom of the Rome courthouse, another name by which the building has been known.

The Accademia della Scherma was born architecturally as an advanced typological experiment of the Opera Nazionale Balilla, of which Moretti was technical director. The Casa delle Armi, located on the southern edge of the Foro Italico, in front of the guesthouse (then the Hostel, today partially occupied by offices and awaiting destination) of Enrico Del Debbio, has an L-shaped plan. The short side facing the Tiber is divided into two parts: blind on half and marked by a giant horizontal window grid on the other half. The second part housed the actual fencing hall, 45 meters long and 25 meters wide, which allowed the simultaneous presence of 160 athletes on the platforms. The facades are uniformly covered in white Carrara marble.
The large external mosaic is by the painter Angelo Canevari.

After being transformed into a courtroom with serious internal tampering, it was left in a state of semi-abandonment. It is now owned by CONI and restoration work is being carried out (April 2013) while waiting for a new destination.
Source: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accademia_di_scherma_al_Foro_italico