Skip to content

San Nicola Football Stadium

Bari / Italy

Built for the 1990 World Cup, the concrete form of the stadium, with a capacity of 60,000 spectators, resembles a large flower. The stadium has two tiers, the upper section divided into 26 ‘petals’.

The ‘petals’ determine circulation throughout the stadium, each accessed separately via independent staircases. The vertical and horizontal separation was driven by concern for crowd safety, allowing swift evacuation in case of emergency and keeping fans separated to help combat hooliganism.

a large stadium with a parking lot in front of it on a cloudy day .
© Gianni Berengo Gardin

Project Details

Status

1987 - 1990

Client

Municipality of Bari

Design

Renzo Piano Building Workshop, architects

Design Team

O.Di Blasi (architect in charge), S.Ishida, F.Marano (associates), L.Pellini with D.Cavagna and G.Sacchi (models)

Consultants

M.Desvigne (landscaping); Ove Arup & Partners, M.Milan (structure and services); Studio Vitone & Associati (reinforced concrete); N.Andidero (supervision of prefabricated components); J.Zucker, M.Belviso (site supervision)