Work begins to flatten the derelict Via Tallone complex, cleared by police in September, with a technology facility planned in its place.Demolition got under way on Wednesday on a huge abandoned building in Rome’s Tor Sapienza district, long associated with drug dealing and crime.The concrete shell on Via Cesare Tallone, dubbed the “crack building” by the local press, has four storeys above ground and two below, with a floor area of over 21,000 square metres. The site covers more than three hectares. Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, prefect Lamberto Giannini, urban planning councillor Maurizio Veloccia and Municipio V president Mauro Caliste attended the start of the operation. A notorious landmark The building dates back to 1981, when permission was granted for a pasta factory. It was later converted for production, laboratories and offices, and eventually became an office complex. After years of neglect, it was occupied and became a magnet for drug dealers and homeless people. It was cleared in 2019 and 2023 but reoccupied each time. In May, a 32-year-old Colombian woman was reportedly held there and raped over three days. On 29 September, police cleared the building again in a dawn raid, arresting two men and taking 25 people for immigration checks. Residents had marched days earlier demanding action. What comes next Clearance and decontamination work began on 8 October. Demolition is due to take around six to seven months, close to the Rome-L’Aquila motorway. Crushed material will be reused on site to fill the basement levels. The site will then host a new technology facility, which local media report will be a data centre. Plans also include a 700-square-metre office block, a guardhouse, technical buildings and a multi-storey car park. The city says there will be no increase in built-up area. Works are expected to last about three years.The project also reportedly includes 170 new trees, more than 10,000 square metres of permeable green space and four rainwater collection tanks. The developer is Roma Immobiliare Logistic, a special-purpose company of French firm APRC. It has paid Rome more than €495,000 in fees and contributions.Gualtieri said the city was keeping a promise to residents and returning an area “too long marked by decay”. Giannini called the demolition the “natural completion” of a long process, saying that clearing the building alone would not have been enough. Photo Roma Capitale

Demolition got under way on Wednesday on a huge abandoned building in Rome’s Tor Sapienza district, long associated with drug dealing and crime. The concrete shell on Via Cesare Tallone, dubbed the “crack building” by the local press, has four storeys above ground and two below, with a floor area of over 21,000 square metres. The site covers more than three hectares. Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, prefect Lamberto Giannini, urban planning councillor Maurizio Veloccia and Municipio V president Mauro Caliste attended the start of the operation. The building dates back to 1981, when permission was granted for a pasta factory. It was later converted for production, laboratories and offices, and eventually became an office complex. After years of neglect, it was occupied and became a magnet for drug dealers and homeless people. It was cleared in 2019 and 2023 but reoccupied each time. In May, a 32-year-old Colombian woman was reportedly held there and raped over three days. On 29 September, , arresting two men and taking 25 people for immigration checks. Residents had marched days earlier demanding action. Clearance and decontamination work began on 8 October. Demolition is due to take around six to seven months, close to the Rome-L’Aquila motorway. Crushed material will be reused on site to fill the basement levels. The site will then host a new technology facility, which local media report will be a data centre. Plans also include a 700-square-metre office block, a guardhouse, technical buildings and a multi-storey car park. The city says there will be no increase in built-up area. Works are expected to last about three years.

The project also reportedly includes 170 new trees, more than 10,000 square metres of permeable green space and four rainwater collection tanks. The developer is Roma Immobiliare Logistic, a special-purpose company of French firm APRC. It has paid Rome more than €495,000 in fees and contributions.

Gualtieri and returning an area “too long marked by decay”. Giannini called the demolition the “natural completion” of a long process, saying that clearing the building alone would not have been enough. Photo Roma Capitale