Piazza Tevere, Rome Architecture Development, Italian Public Realm, Urban Landscape Design Images
Piazza Tevere in Rome
10 Sep 2020
Piazza Tevere by Tiber River
Design: Ballman Khapalova
Location: by Tiber River, Rome, Italy

Between the Ponte Giuseppe Mazzini and the Ponte Sisto there is a section of the Tiber River that is perfectly rectangular. It is the same size and proportion as the Circus Maximus, and like the Circus Maximus, this section of the river can become a vital center for public life in Rome: the new Piazza Tevere.

Inspired by Michelangelo?s cornice at the Palazzo Farnese, the creation of an inhabitable cornice at the top of the Tiber?s flood walls allows for the energy of the city to extend into the realm of the river. The Tiber, which currently divides Rome physically and experientially, becomes a place where the city can now come together.
The rhythm of the cornice follows the city fabric on either side of the river, with Michelangelo?s uncompleted Farnese bridge forming the only alignment across the Tiber. The alternating stepped profile of the cornice acts as structure and ornament, and allows for a varying rhythm at street level of amphitheater seating and gardens.

The gardens evoke the tradition of Rome?s intimate courtyard gardens, but here, the experience of the private garden is open to everyone. The forms and rhythms of the gardens are reminiscent of the inhabited, thickened walls surrounding ancient Roman baths. Within the gardens, fountai...