The university is located within the sports, monumental and historic Foro Italico complex, designed in 1928 by architect Enrico Del Debbio and his collaborators. That same year the foundation stone was laid. The initial design underwent numerous changes, most notably those made by architect Luigi Moretti in 1936 and those that followed after the war. On November 4, 1932, the inauguration ceremony of the Forum, then called the Mussolini Forum, was held.

In the initial period the Physical Education Academy building and the Marble Stadium were built. The surrounding buildings and facilities would be constructed in the following years, up to 1950. For the ’60 Olympics, the old Cypress Stadium was renovated, which was further renovated for the ’90 World Cup. The Forum is rich in mosaics outside and inside the buildings. They were designed and made by Severini, Canevari, Capizzaro and Rosso, among others.

At the entrance to the Forum stands the monolith dedicated to Mussolini, cut, in a single block, from marble in the quarries of Carrara and then transported to Rome.

Also part of the architectural complex of the Fascist Academy of Physical Education is the Stadio dei Marmi, built to a design by architect Enrico Del Debbio in the early 1930s. It is named after the white Carrara marble that was used to build the eight tiers designed to accommodate 20,000 people.

The Stadium, however, was not designed for public competitive events, but primarily as a gymnastic and military training venue for academics: this explains the absence of canopies and also the structure itself, which was designed in the key of a “Hellenic diaulo,” that is, with two straight, parallel sides connected with a semicircular section on both sides. The stadium is completely underground and the highest step corresponds to the street level. The field covers an area of 14,000 square meters.

For the 17th Olympiad, the Stadio dei Marmi underwent minor renovations and accommodations, including an underground corridor connecting it to the Olympic Stadium and rooms for locker rooms and other facilities. The other characteristic element of the Stadium is offered by the sixty statues-donated by the Italian provinces-distributed at the top of the esplanade.

The statues are all the same height, 4 m. , and represent athletes from different disciplines in patterns of strong similarity, according to the regime style. Some of the most prolific sculptors who worked on these statues include: Aroldo Bellini, Tommaso Bertolino, Aldo Buttini, Silvio Canevari, and Carlo De Veroli. Also by the sculptor Bellini are the two bronze groups placed on either side of the entrance to the field. By Angelo Canevari, on the other hand, is the large 150-square-meter mosaic also placed at the entrance to the field, depicting eight athletic figures.

Inside the red and white buildings are the Rector’s Office, General Management, Administrative Offices, Department, Library, Language Center, classrooms and gyms, including the Monumental Gymnasium. Not far away is the building with the historic swimming pool decorated with mosaics still in excellent condition. Additional classrooms are located, however, in a building facing the right bank of the Tiber River near Ponte Milvio.