Like Turin, Bologna is loaded with porticoes. Unlike Turin, Bolognese architecture is traditionally Italian Gothic and medieval, as opposed to Baroque. It is the older city, or appears to be. Bologna's stadium is also older than Turin's, but not by
much – just six years. Looking at it, you'd think at least 60. This disparity
is all the more striking when one considers that both grounds were part of the
same initiative. Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino began life as the Stadio
Municipale Benito Mussolini, while the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara was originally
known as Stadio Littoriale – ‘Littoriali’ being the name of the annual events
organised by the Partito Nazionale Fascista to celebrate itself. Yet one
is built in the International Style, and was thus architecturally contemporary,
whereas the other is neoclassical, looking to the past.
The
discrepancy is in part explained by the projects' respective architects. The
stadium in Turin was designed by Raffaello Fagnoni (also responsible for Stadio
Porta Elisa in Lucca) who was loosely connected with Italian Rationalism.
Stadio Littoriale's architect, Giulio Ulisse Arata – working under the direction of Umberto Costanzini – is harder to pin down. Mannerism,
Eclecticism, Neo-Baroque and Art Nouveau have all been used to describe his
work, but none of these really apply here. The greater consideration may well
have been born of the city itself, the preponderance of red brick, the site of the
stadium, and its connection – physically, literally – to the Portico di San
Luca.
On Bologna's formation in 1909,
they went about their business at Prati di Caprara, which was little more
than a field, or parade ground, rented off the local military. After a couple
of years the club relocated to Cesoia outside Porta San Vitale, which offered more
in the way of amenity: changing rooms, a fence demarcating the perimeter, fixed
goalposts. By 1913 Bologna were playing at Stadio Sterlino, outside Porta
Santo Stefano, which had a sloping pitch but was otherwise well
appointed – more fencing, an open terrace, a covered grandstand.
Bologna
moved to their current home in 1927. The ground was actually part of a much
broader scheme instigated by Bologna’s mayor, Leandro Arpinati, who also
happened to be the president of the Italian Football Federation, vice-secretary
general of the National Fascist Party, a citizen of Bologna and a supporter of
its team. As well as including the obligatory athletics’ track, tennis courts
and swimming pools (one outdoor, one indoor) were constructed to the rear of
the tribuna. In 1929, the six-storey Marathon Tower was added, overlooking
the terrace opposite, serving as a platform from which Mussolini could spew
Fascist propaganda. Both sides were straight, the ends semi-circular –
conventional and inexpensive.
Perhaps
the most significant feature was a pre-existing one: the incorporation
of the Portico di San Luca along the stadium’s eastern perimeter, beneath the
Marathon Tower, running south and upwards towards the Santuario Madonna di San
Luca. The façade of the ground itself was comprised of a series of arched
windows and doors on two levels, mirroring the arches of the portico and
finished in the same terracotta brick. I say ‘finished’ because the external
brickwork was not structural; reinforced concrete lay behind it.
The
stadium was deemed a success. Architecturally it was an anachronism.
The aforementioned Stadio Municipale Benito Mussolini in Turin, Fiorentina’s Stadio
Giovanni Berta, even Napoli’s Stadio Partenopeo, all had cantilevered roofs. Stadio
Littoriale's was flat and propped up by twelve posts. Where Raffaello Fagnon and Pier Luigi Nervi's structural endeavours were left on show, Costanzini's were hidden away. Of all the grounds selected for the 1934 World Cup, only the Stadio Nazionale PNF in Rome was stylistically comparable, and that dated back to 1911.
Renamed Stadio Renato
Dall'Ara in 1983 (in memory of the club’s longest serving and most successful president) the ground
underwent very little in the way of change until it was chosen as a venue for the 1990 World Cup. In fact, plans to modernise the ground had been tentatively
drawn up as early as 1984 and would form the basis for its subsequent overhaul.
Overhaul
is the right word. As with the Bentegodi in Verona and the Artemio Franchi in
Florence, the standing structure of the Dall’Ara remained pretty much intact. An increased, all-seated capacity was achieved by adding
three rows at the bottom, where the parterre was, and twelve
at the top. The question was simply how
to support those extra twelve rows without obfuscating what it was that defined the Stadio
Renato Dall'Ara: the neo-classical façade and the colour of the bricks that comprised it.
The
solution was both ingenious and brave. An exposed steel framework supported by 120
columns was aligned with the existing pilasters, supporting the extended
terrace and providing access to it via a series of stairwells running around the
stadium’s perimeter. That the external brickwork was partially obscured is undeniable, but the colour of the steel supports – somewhere between teal and
turquoise – complemented the terracotta masonry rather than overwhelming it. As did the yellow railings and the raw concrete of the extended terrace. The effect is that of a Victorian-era train station turned inside out.
The steel
roof is a continuation of the exoskeleton, but more refined. It is a cantilevered
structure reaching backwards 5 metres from the rear of the tribuna and seems
to float above it. Laterally, it covers more ground than the previous canopy, following
the curve of the terrace before
stopping abruptly, as if satisfied that more than enough protection has been
afforded to the spectators below. Finally the tower, which was built around and scrubbed up –
the extended terrace drops down as it gets closer to it – and yellow seating
throughout.
Not much
has changed since, save for new seating – red and blue,
placed randomly – and improved corporate facilities within the tribuna.
In 2016 Bologna Football
Club began the process of redeveloping the Renato Dall'Ara. By 2019 they had a plan.
Should it ever get off the drawing board, this will involve demolishing everything
other than the original brickwork, which includes the tower, removing the
running track and putting a roof over the whole thing. Capacity will be reduced,
from something like 36,000 to around 30,000. The whole scheme is more than likely
contingent on the ground’s selection as venue for the 2032 European Football
Championship.
Is the venture worth pursuing regardless? Probably. Despite
its architectural interest, Stadio Renato Dall'Ara is at the very least in need of
a heavy paint job. But that won’t solve the problem of the weather. The climate of Bologna is not that of Palermo (whose stadium is similar), and those northern Italian winters can be a real drag.
