Cavea Arcari

Cavea Arcari is a former underground quarry, cut into the hills over generations to extract a soft local limestone. The British design team was asked to turn this cavern into a place for cultural events without losing the force of the space left by the quarrymen.

The intervention is deliberately light. The vast chambers, the massive pillars left to hold up the rock and the marks of the tools on every surface remain as they were found. New elements, platforms, steps and discreet lighting, are placed only where needed to make the space usable and safe.

Pools of still water on the floor reflect the stone and double the height of the halls, while light from the entrances and lamps picks out the textures of the walls. The photographs show a space that feels as much a landscape as a building.