If we think of a Greek or Roman theatre, we immediately imagine a rather wide and flat space that accommodates a semicircular, stepped structure capable of seating a sufficient number of spectators, welcoming them within for its main purpose: seeing and hearing.

These were surely the guiding principles Luigi Moretti had in mind for his Teatro Imperiale, which was to be built in an area of the site designated for the 1942 Universal Exposition of Rome (thereafter called E42 or EUR). The fundamental concept was to reinterpret classical forms through innovation.