The company is supporting the San Pietro Campus project in Rome, a 25,000 sqm area set to open in October 2026
Construction is in full swing in Rome, near San Pietro Station and few steps from the Vatican, on the new Centro Polifunzionale Crocifisso (Crocifisso Multi-functional Center). On a 25,000-square-meter area, a new complex will rise - scheduled to open in October 2026 - designed to host a variety of functions: student housing for university students in Rome, commercial spaces including a hotel, a restaurant and a bar; conference rooms for public events; green areas. “The project isn’t just about real estate”, says Andrea Marchiori, entrepreneur and CEO of Techbau, an engineering and construction company known for its technological innovation, “we wanted to breathe new life into a disused railway area, abandoned for over twenty years, adjacent to the train tracks, and we’re doing it based on a design by architect Mario Cucinella. In one of the plazas, on an elevated pedestal, we will place a large sculpture, Flight of doves by Floriano Bodini, measuring xxx cm, an artwork previously part of Nicola Loi’s collection. This piece is meant to resonate with the surrounding Roman context and the tragic historical moment we’re living through, marked by wars and destruction”. Marchiori, a passionate art lover and collector, highlights another distinctive aspect of the Roman project: “The area we’re developing is separated from the railway tracks by a wall 145 meters long and 10 meters high. We’ve decided to launch an open call, in collaboration with the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art (GNAMC), targeting artists under 35. The goal is to find creative proposals to transform and beautify this barrier, making it less visually intrusive.
A large sculpture by Floriano Bodini, Flight of doves, will be placed on an elevated pedestal
The judging panel includes myself, Mario Cucinella, and Cristina Mazzantini, Director of the GNAMC. The full call for entries, which closes on December 9, can be found on the Gallery’s website. In this way, the wall will no longer be just a dividing element, but a narrative surface featuring graphic, material or sculptural elements designed for close viewing and harmonized with the greenery that will be spread throughout the area. The wall will interact with the architecture and built environment we are creating, becoming a meaningful feature for those living in, visiting,
or simply passing through the Multi-functional Center”
A 45-meter-long, 10-meter-high wall will be the subject of a competition for artists under 35
Andrea Marchiori speaks with passion about the Roman project, the artists he admires and the collection he has assembled over time, bringing to mind Goethe’s quote: “Collectors are happy people.” His focus is particularly drawn to major Italian sculptors like Marino, Messina, Manzù and Vangi. He vividly describes some of the works that enrich Techbau’s headquarters in Castelletto Ticino (Novara): three large works by Emilio Isgrò with his signature erasures; pieces by Guido Scarabottolo in the meeting rooms; and two wolves by Davide Rivalta that prowl through the company's premises.
The Centro Polifunzionale Crocifisso project in Rome stands as an example of how abandoned spaces, true terrain vague, can be reclaimed after years of decay and transformed from divisive voids into vital parts of the city. In this case, the area is being returned to public use and reimagined as a space for urban connection and human interaction. At the heart of it all will stand Flight of doves by Bodini, placed at the center of a raised flowerbed surrounded by tiered seating steps.
Marchiori’s collection also includes works by Marino, Messina, Manzù, Vangi and Isgrò
