Giulio Arata

Giulio Arata was initially trained as a stucco plasterer before studying architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brera in Milano. He was mainly known as an architect in the large Italian cities of Milano, Napoli and Roma. He was considered as one of those who evolved from the Art Nouveau style in the direction of Nationalism. During this period, he was responsible for the restoration of the historic center of Bologna, the building of the new hospital in Milano, and the design of the stadium of Bologna. In the 1930s he was noticed less and less, as he was considered one of the architects of the older generation and then became a writer and professor in Parma.

Arata designed the “Multisport Stadium” of Bologna, originally called “Stadio Littoriale”. Much of the planning is attributed to engineer Umberto Costanzini. The stadium was built from 1925-27 as a combined football and athletics stadium. In addition, there were also two swimming pools, an open 50 m pool and an indoor pool, as well as tennis courts. On the day of the opening by Mussolini, an assassination attempt on the Duce was unsuccessful. In 1929, the Marathon Tower was added as well as an equestrian statue of Mussolini. In 1990, the stadium was converted into a football stadium for the World Cup. In the catalog of the Olympic art exhibition, 1933 is given as the date of completion of the submitted contribution. However, further major stadium projects by Arata are not known.