PalaLottomatica is the commercial name assumed by ...

PalaLottomatica is the commercial name assumed by the Palazzo dello Sport in Rome (commonly also known as PalaSport or PalaEur), a building located in the EUR district.
Conceived and designed in 1956 by the architect Marcello Piacentini and the engineer Pier Luigi Nervi, and built between 1958 and 1960 for the 17th Olympic Games in Rome, the structure has since then hosted sporting events, conferences and concerts.
Between 1999 and 2003 it was subjected to modernization and renovation works carried out by ForumNet S.p.A. and financed by Lottomatica; the latter acquired the right to give its name to the plant, managed by All Events Spa, a company of the ForumNet group, while the owner of the building is EUR SpA.
The structure has returned to being, starting from 2018, the home of the home matches of the professional basketball club Virtus Roma.
In the EUR 42 district, which was being set up, seat of the Universal Exposition scheduled for 1942 but never built, a monumental installation in the area above the Laghetto was already planned since 1937, at the rejoining of the carriageways of the Via Imperiale ( today via Cristoforo Colombo). The scenic effect that should have resulted was that of a "perspective backdrop" for visitors from Rome [1].
It was decided, in this area, to build the so-called Palazzo dell'Acqua e della Luce for whose project 16 well-known engineers and architects were invited, including Pier Luigi Nervi and Franco Albini. From the selection, announced in February 1939, there were no winners. The second prize was awarded to Nervi's work, then the examining commission, directed by Marcello Piacentini, directly took on the burden of carrying out the work; Nervi decided to back down and even the commission came to a standstill. The work never found realization, also thanks to the subsequent war which stopped all the works.