Future places and ancient atmospheres

Named after Romanian discus thrower Lia Manoliu, the gold medalist at the 1968 Olympics, it is the largest stadium in her country. Discus throwing, part of athletics, is a sport of truly ancient origins, made famous by the marvellous Greek sculpture “Discobolus of Mirone”  (the name of the sculptor who created it around 455 B.C.).

The bronze original has been lost, but Roman copies made this incredible statue a symbol of the ancient Olympics, and the perfection of the human body. However, references to antiquity do not end here: the signature element of the largest Romanian stadium is precisely the retractable velarium, which evokes the same atmosphere of the ancient amphitheatres.