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The Church of St Valentine at the Olympic Village: a Contemporary Ruin in the Games District
In the heart of the Villaggio Olimpico, the district built to house the athletes of the 1960 Rome Games, stands the Church of San Valentino, designed by architect Francesco Berarducci and consecrated in 1986. It was not part of the original plan: residents wanted it moved from the central plot, and construction began only in 1983. The name brings to mind the Catacombs of San Valentino, which are a short distance away.
A Building That Looks Like an Archaeological Dig
Berarducci built the church as if it were a ruin brought back to life. The layout is based on a cubic module of 2.20 metres per side: the walls vary in height, and suggest an open, almost unfinished look. The load-bearing structure is in exposed brick — inside and out — alternated with courses and blocks of travertine. The steel and glass roof overlays the walls like a modern graft onto ancient masonry.
Simple Materials, Controlled Light
The floor in peperino stone and travertine slabs runs across the parvis and continues to the altar: a processional band accompanying those who enter. At the entrance, the silhouette of one of the angels of Ponte Sant'Angelo initiates the dialogue between ancient and modern. In the nave, a white dove suspended over a golden sphere and hangings reproducing fragments of Cavallini's frescoes root the church to a centuries-old tradition.
