A 1933 bathing establishment on the Roman coast, designed by Virgilio Vallot and Giovanni Sicher. It survives as a notable example of interwar Italian Rationalism and has long housed a restaurant.
At a glance
La Vecchia Pineta stands on Lungomare Lutazio Catulo at Lido di Castel Fusano, on the seafront south of Ostia. It is a former luxury bathing establishment, now known mainly for its restaurant. Sources describe it as one of the best architectural examples on the Roman coast.
Key facts
- Where: Lungomare Lutazio Catulo, Lido di Castel Fusano, Roma
- What: Building
- When: 1933
- GPS: 41.7178, 12.3062 · Open in Google Maps
History
The Regia Capitaneria di Porto of Civitavecchia issued a competition in January 1933 for a new bathing establishment at Castel Fusano. The project by the Venetian professionals Virgilio Vallot and Giovanni Sicher was presented through the Società Elettro Ferroviaria Italiana, which already owned the nearby Stabilimento Roma. The design responded to a brief requiring a place of absolute luxury in appearance, plant and services. The technical commission examining the project asked for the cabins initially planned in wood to be built in masonry.
During the Second World War the building was used first by German troops and then, after the liberation, by Allied forces, which allowed it to survive the conflict largely unharmed. After the war the name changed from La Pineta to La Vecchia Pineta to distinguish it from the new Nuova Pineta built nearby.
In the early 1990s a restoration was carried out on a project by Paolo Portoghesi, respecting constraints imposed by the Soprintendenza ai Beni culturali. A more recent concession dispute led to the closure of the establishment by order of Roma Capitale.
What you see
The photographs from 2010 show the street front of the building, with the sign “LA VECCHIA PINETA” above the entrance. The architecture is composed of simple volumes with circular windows inspired by ship portholes. A cylindrical tower element and a glazed stair tower are visible, along with a rooftop terrace railing and a balcony with a staircase. Parked cars and a pedestrian crossing place the building directly on the seafront road.
Do you know more about this place?
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Nearby
- Park of the Pineta Castel Fusano — wooded coastal park just inland from the establishment
Gallery
Sources
- Il Contrafforte, STABILIMENTO “VECCHIA PINETA”: construction date, architects, client, wartime use, post-war name change.
- Arte e Architettura del Ventennio / beniculturalionline.it, Stabilimento balneare, La Pineta oggi La Vecchia Pineta – Ostia, Roma – Arch. Virgilio Vallot, Ing. Giovanni Sicher – 1933: identification of subject and photographers.
- Architetturadipietra.it, La Vecchia Pineta – Giorgio Blanco e Claudio Nardulli: competition details, plan description, porthole windows, approval by commission.
- Biblioteche di Roma, Occhio al territorio: architettura moderna ad Ostia, gli stabilimenti balneari (1): context of the 1933 bathing establishment competition.
- Vinotype, La Vecchia Pineta ad Ostia: il Razionalismo, il mare e l’Eremo Tuscolano: use as a restaurant since 1946, current address.
- Canale Dieci, Chiude un altro lido iconico di Ostia: nato nel 1933, ha fatto da set per Suburra e Woody Allen: restoration by Paolo Portoghesi, closure by Roma Capitale.
- OpenStreetMap, La vecchia Pineta, Lungomare Lutazio Catulo, Lido di Castel Fusano: address and coordinates.
- Stefano Vigolo, photographs and notes to the editorial staff (2026): identification of the subject. Not a published source
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