Istituto Superiore Antincendi

The Institute is located in an area on which a series of buildings were built between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century to house the new commercial and industrial establishments of Roma Capitale (1870).

The architectural complex of the Institute, designed by Eng. Tullio Passarelli, whose works were completed in 1909, had a designated use of Magazzini Generali in Rome. This work constitutes one of the first examples of reinforced concrete work in the capital and is of considerable importance both for its size and for the particularity of the goods transport system (bridge cranes), built with imposing metal structures that go as far as the Tiber. , where the goods to be stored inside the buildings were unloaded from the boats.
The same transport systems were also used for loading trucks or railway wagons, the latter positioned on two tracks located at the head of the buildings and connected to the Rome - Civitavecchia railway line.
These buildings rejected in the sixties by the demanding logic of the market, undergoing premature aging for thirty years, have been recovered since the nineties by the National Fire Brigade for a new use: teaching, training and information on safety and prevention sciences.
The buildings, made of tuff blocks with brick inserts, refer to the architecture of northern Europe at the end of the 19th century and have a style called "brutalist", essential and functional.
Inside the buildings an opposing architectural theme develops: in an austere lace of floors and galleries underlining the longitudinality of the structure together with the tracks of the bridge cranes, used in the past for the transport of goods.
During the night, the ISA shows suggestive signs of light and shadow on the metal pylons and on the tuff-brick walls. The external lighting of the square enhances the irregular square texture, which gives a suggestive neo-Renaissance view of the square.
In the 2000s, during the excavations for the construction of the garage, remains of Roman dwellings and warehouses from the 1st and 2nd centuries AD were found, which will form an archaeological area together with other neighboring historical sites. To date, these buildings constitute one of the best examples of industrial archeology recovery.