If you call yourself a foodie, of course you know Eataly: you have probably seen the 17.000 square metre food Valhalla inside and out. But have you ever paid attention to the building in which the worldwide Italian food phenomenon is located? Not only is it an excellent example of post-modern architecture, it also has an interesting backstory. Here are a few things you probably didn’t know about the Air Terminal in Ostiense.
Eataly, Air Terminal Ostiense
Piazzale XII Ottobre 1492, 00154 | Rome
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It’s hard to imagine this epicentre of artisanal food as anything else – in fact, if you’re a relatively new Roman, like me, you probably never saw the building before it became a huge supermarket. But if you pay closer attention to the Air Terminal, you’ll notice small elements that reveal it wasn’t actually built to host a 17.000 square metre store and restaurant space: the large structures of iron and glass, the barrel-vaulted roof, and the round windows framed by white cement, like the portholes of a ship.
Homage to roman architecture
In fact, the Air Terminal was one of the most important buildings realised for the World Cup in 1990 and was supposed to enable a fast connection by train between Ostiense and Fiumicino airport. Designed by the Spanish architect Julio Lafuente, the project was finished in record time: just over 12 months. Although Lafuente’s work is without a doubt a great piece of post-modernism, he got a lot of his inspiration from recent and less recent history.
The large barrel vault roof, for example, echoes Roman architecture. Lafuente took a close look at thermal buildings from Roman times, admiring them for their immense and majestic arches. The glass and iron are a nod to famous railway stations of the early 20th century, which used the materials as a symbol of industrial and technological progress.
Abandoned icon
Unfortunately, only a few weeks after the inauguration of the Air Terminal, expectations turned out to be overly optimistic: out of the 30.000 expected passengers, only 3000 showed up. Because of the station’s rather isolated location, most Romans preferred Tiburtina Station to the Terminal in Ostiense. Taxi driver associations boycotted the new transportation hub and after the State Railways sold it to a commercial group of retailers, the glass-domed dwelling soon became abandoned. Apart from a few concerts, parties, theatre shows, the Air Terminal remained empty for over 20 years, housing squatters until Eataly decided to rent it in 2012.
Eataly carried out some restoration works and added some elements, such as the moving walkways that connect the four separate levels and a series of staircases. Luckily, the centre of the structure was left open so visitors can still admire the full-height windows that beautifully diffuse the light. While you do your shopping on the ground floor, you can still see the original, squared tiles. Be sure to take the stairs and also check out the top floor, where can take a look at the impressive glass and iron structure – the view is even better towards the end of a sunny day.
All images © 2021 by Liza Karsemeijer
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