Annibale Vitellozzi was born in
Anghiari,
Arezzo, in 1902. He graduated in Architecture from
Sapienza University of Rome in 1927. In 1937, it was decided to replace the old Roma Termini railway station, as part of the planning for the
1942 World's Fair, which was never held because of the outbreak of
World War II. Vitellozzi was commissioned to design the station's façade, a notable example of
Italian Rationalism, in collaboration with Leo Calini and Eugenio Montuori. Construction of the building was halted in 1943 when the Italian fascist government collapsed. The building was finally inaugurated in late 1950. In 1938, Vitellozzi and Ernesto Puppo designed the monumental Pavilion of Autarchy, Research and Inventions for the
Mostra autarchica del Minerale italiano. Vitellozzi created his most famous works for the
1960 Summer Olympics. These included the Swimming Stadium, which he designed in collaboration with
Enrico Del Debbio, as well as the engineers Sergio Musmeci and
Riccardo Morandi. He also designed the Sports Hall (commonly called
PalaLottomatica) in collaboration with the engineer
Pier Luigi Nervi. Other notable works include the completion of the
Stadio Olimpico (1949–1953), the National Athletics School in
Formia (1953–1955), the Sports Palace in Turin (commonly called
PalaRuffini), built to celebrate the 100th
anniversary of the Unification of Italy, and the
Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma in
Castro Pretorio, near Termini Station, built together with architects Massimo Castellazzi and
Tullio Dell'Anese. The Library, the largest in Italy, was inaugurated in 1975. It replaced the previous library, which was housed in the sixteenth-century
Roman College. In preparation for the
1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, during which the Stadio Olimpico was the main stadium, Vitellozzi, together with the architects Maurizio Clerici and Paolo Teresi, as well as the structural engineers Antonio Michetti, completed a radical renovation of the facility, including a new roof. From 1961 to 1974, he served on the Building Commission of the City of Rome, first representing the
National Academy of San Luca and then the National Institute of Urban Planning. He died in Rome in 1990, aged eighty-eight. == Reference ==