Portinerie Romane

In Italian, the word portineria (plural: portinerie) broadly refers to a space, usually located at the entrance of a residential building and occupied by the portiere (the building’s caretaker or doorman). There is no direct English equivalent. Depending on its configuration, a portineria may resemble a porter’s lodge, a gatehouse, a reception desk, or simply a doorway giving direct access to the caretaker’s apartment.

Portinerie Romane explores this overlooked element of Roman architecture, revealing the inventiveness and cultural significance embedded in these small yet distinctive micro-architectures.

The project began in 2010 with the support of the Faculty of Architecture “Valle Giulia” at La Sapienza University in Rome, initially focusing on Palazzine by architects such as Moretti, Ridolfi, Libera, and Luccichenti. It later expanded to document a wide range of solutions: variations in form, materials, furnishings, and spatial arrangements, where functional needs meet experimentation and, at times, eccentricity.

Through this work, portinerie emerge as distinctive components of Rome’s architectural fabric.

Via Giovanni Battista Martini 6
Marcello Piacentini – Roma 1923

Via Panama 52
Mario De Renzi – Roma 1930

Via Brenta 2a
Gino Coppedè – Palazzo degli Ambasciatori
Roma 1915–21

Via Salaria 326
Roma 1939–40

Via Archimede 164
Roma 1946–47

Via Nomentana 134
Villa del Ragno – Roma 1954–55

Lungotevere Flaminio 26
Angelo Di Castro – Roma 1930–32

Via Vittoria Colonna 32
Marcello Piacentini – Casa Maraini
Roma 1910

Viale delle Medaglie d’Oro 283
Roma 1950–52

Via Nomentana 761
Roma 1970–72

Viale della Tecnica 205
Vincenzo Monaco, Amedeo Luccichenti
Flavia Nova – Roma 1961–63

Largo Pio Fedi 5
Mario Fiorentino, Federico Gorio, Pier Maria
Lugli, Giulio Sterbini, Michele Valori
Corviale IACP Housing Complex
Roma 1972–82

Piazza delle Medaglie d’Oro 45
Ugo Luccichenti – Complesso Edilizio Belsito
Roma 1952–53