Piazza San Silvestro is a central location in Rome, just a short walk from the Trevi fountain and from Trinità dei Monti. After World War II, it became the terminal for buses and trams that connected the city centre with the capital’s various suburban districts. A place of traffic for public transport, which had lost almost all architectural value, in addition to its value as a square, to be intended as a meeting place, a place of relationships.

Piazza San Silvestro

In 2011 a decision was made to close the square to vehicle traffic, turn it into a pedestrian area and requalify the area according to a project by architect Paolo Portoghesi, who justified his choices by saying: ‘Rome is a peculiar city, its beauty is the abundance of squares. We divided the new square into two parts: the first is rectangular, aligned with the church of San Silvestro – a true churchyard. The second part is elliptical, to separate a pedestrian section from all the rest’. The oval part, typical of the cityscape, is marked off by four travertine benches, respecting the concept of a theatre-square – a place seen as a meeting place between people. The objective was to bring the project closer to the identity of the city, in hopes that Piazza San Silvestro could become what Piazza Colonna was at the beginning of the century. Neri participated in the lighting and furnishing project for the piazza, in collaboration with Acea, with posts from the Heka series and ‘Light 804’ luminaires, which were positioned in the central part of the square. On the sides of the square, in front of Palazzo delle Poste, the street is reserved for taxis and was lit with Heka system posts and a bespoke luminaire, the shape of which is similar to the classic suspended lighting that has lit the city of Rome for decades. The same lamp post was also used to light the opposite part, in front of the church of San Claudio, in the Piazza with the same name, which has greater lighting requirements due to the cars and buses in transit.

Castel Sant’Angelo

Castel Sant’Angelo is one of the most famous monuments in Rome. Built by emperor Hadrian in 125 as his mausoleum, it actually was home to the remains of emperor Hadrian, in addition to other emperors such as Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius and Septimius Severus. Even for this historical place, ‘Light 804’ was chosen for the lighting in the park of Castel Sant’Angelo, where it was installed on the existing posts.