On 24 October 2026, as part of the Romaeuropa Festival, for one night only (from 9.00 pm), the historic spaces of Campo Boario, part of the former Testaccio Slaughterhouse complex, will come alive with COSTELLAZIONE BOARIO, an expanded performance stretching from the Pelanda, the heart of the Romaeuropa Festival, to the pavilions of the former Fienili. Along the route, light and sound installations, video projections and performative acts will welcome the public to an area steeped in history that today has been revitalised.
Campo Boario, designed by Gioacchino Ersoch and built between 1888 and 1891, was the large square of the livestock market: a place of work, trade, passage and people, in an area which, as early as the late nineteenth century, was considered strategic for Rome as the capital. Since 2014, it has also been home to the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, which hosts part of its activities here, particularly those related to multimedia arts, graphic design, photography and video. As one of the city’s most significant examples of industrial archaeology, it is now at the heart of a new regeneration process, acting as a sounding board between the traces of the past and the languages of the contemporary.
Future generations of artists will turn the spotlight on this historic venue and present works created side by side with their tutors: artists, composers, conductors and performers. These are leading figures in the arts who, driven first and foremost by passion, have nurtured their artistic careers alongside their teaching, building a genuine bridge between generations.
The core elements of the project are curated by conductor Pedro Alcalde, designer Mauro Palatucci, multimedia artist Cristian Rizzuti and visual artists Maria Cristina Reggio and Luca Valerio, who teach on the Multimedia Arts and Photography and Video courses. The performance, which will take place from 9.30 pm to 10.30 pm in the evocative setting of the CrossinGallery’s new exhibition space, is curated by the artistic duo LU.PA (Lulù Nuti and Pamela Pintus), a special guest at the event, and coordinated by the artist Elena Bellantoni.
This marks a meeting of generations, in a historic venue, and between two institutions: the Romaeuropa Festival and the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, through its Department of Applied Arts, which for almost ten years have found common ground, each year exploring a different direction. This year’s project is an interdisciplinary initiative spanning institutions and spaces, designed to engage with the urban landscape, in collaboration with internationally renowned artists.
Costellazioni Boario. Visit here the website for the updated program of the events
