My Trip to Check Out the Flaminio Stadio
Alright, so I’d heard a bit about the Flaminio Stadio in Rome. Not the big Olympic one, the other one. Sounded kinda interesting, you know, one of those older places. Decided I should go have a look myself, see what it’s actually like on the ground.
First thing, I had to figure out how to get there. Looked it up briefly. Seemed like Tram line 2 was the way to go, heading north from Piazzale Flaminio, near Piazza del Popolo. That seemed easy enough. So, I hopped on the tram, which was crowded as usual, but hey, it’s Rome.
Got off at the Apollodoro stop, I think it was. Stepped out, and yeah, you’re right there in the Flaminio district. It’s a different vibe from the super touristy center. A bit more spread out, lots of trees.
Walked a little bit, following the signs, or rather, just looking for something that looked like a stadium. You pass by that modern MAXXI museum building, which looks totally different from everything else around it. And the Palazzetto dello Sport, that round building by Nervi, is right there too. Pretty cool architecture around, I gotta say.
Then I saw it, the Stadio Flaminio itself. It wasn’t massive like the Olimpico, more… human-sized? Looked its age, for sure. I started walking around the outside perimeter. Wanted to get a feel for the place.
- Found the main entrance gates. Locked up tight, obviously.
- Tried peeking through the fences and gaps where I could.
- Could see the stands, the pitch area. Looked pretty neglected, grass overgrown in places.
Honestly, it felt a bit sad. Here’s this piece of architectural history, designed by Nervi too, I think, just sitting there. You could tell it was probably amazing back in the day, maybe for the 1960 Olympics. Now, it just seemed quiet and waiting. You hear stories about plans to fix it up, but who knows when that’ll happen.
I spent maybe half an hour just circling it, taking it in. It wasn’t like visiting the Colosseum where everything’s set up for tourists. This felt more like stumbling upon something forgotten. Couldn’t get inside, of course, which was a bit of a letdown, but expected.
After that, I just wandered back towards the tram stop. Grabbed an espresso at a little bar nearby. Stood there sipping it, watching the trams go by. It wasn’t a spectacular visit, no big “wow” moment, but it was interesting just to see it with my own eyes, connect the place to the name and the stories.
So yeah, that was my little exploration of the Stadio Flaminio area. Went there, walked around, saw the outside, felt a bit nostalgic for a time I wasn’t even around for, and then headed off. Just another day poking around Rome.
