The Civil Court of Rome has issued a ruling ordering the city authorities to halt construction work at Via degli Aromi 7. The decision, made at the request of the committee against the construction of AS Roma's new stadium in Pietralata, prevents any further work necessary for the stadium project.

Committee versus AS Roma authorities - How did it start?

The situation had already become complicated a month ago. Archaeological investigations were being carried out on the site of the planned Stadio della Roma. In order for the project to be approved, the results of the research were needed to confirm that there were no significant Roman-era relics on the site.

The activists of the Yes to a park, no to a stadium committee stood in the way. According to them, there is a laurel forest in the Pietralata district. The committee exercised its right to request a review of the construction plans.

According to journalist Alessio Di Francesco, who wrote on Platform X, the Civil Court of Rome, as a precautionary measure, ordered the Roman authorities to refrain from entering and/or allowing anyone to access the property at Via degli Aromi 7, where part of Roma's stadium is to be built.

This means that archaeological work has been halted indefinitely. Not to mention that nobody knows what the Pietralata hides. If archaeologists uncovered important finds from the Roman period, the time could be even longer, as is now happening at another Roman construction site, the Piazza Pia metro.

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Court stops archaeological work

In a statement, the Yes to the Park, Yes to the Hospital - No to the Stadium committee stresses that the court has recognised the ownership of the construction sites and ordered the city to stop all activities interfering with the property. The decision blocked planned archaeological research on the land earmarked for the stadium.

The court ruling is a major setback for the stadium project, which has been controversial from the start. The committee accuses the city authorities, including Mayor Gualtieri and Assessor Veloccia, of falsely portraying residents as illegal occupiers of public land.

We therefore put an end to months of requests and institutional intimidation practised by those who should be defending their citizens from harassment and disturbance actions. We reject the rantings of the mayor and councillor regarding the fictitious presentation of the final project in a few months' time, while the documents we have show that the initial thought was May 2024. - can be read in the committee's statement.

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What next for stadium in Pietralata district?

The city authorities and AS Roma will now have to find new solutions to proceed with the stadium, which may require a change of location or additional negotiations with the residents of Pietralata. The committee announces a further fight to protect the green spaces and the future of the local community.

The right and intention of the Municipality of Rome to define a procedure to regain possession of the land is confirmed, which may end with the issuing of a measure of forced acquisition of the area, - Roma Capitale Urban Planning Department said in a note.

At this point, it seems unlikely that the ground analysis work can be completed before the summer, as Mayor Gualtieri and Town Planning Councillor Veloccia had hoped. It is also clear that the project will not be started any time soon. It is worth mentioning that the activities carried out by the club are continuing in other areas that are not banned.

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