Rome’s ex-Mattatoio (abattoir) complex is now an active site for cultural happenings and artistic events. Situated on the edge of the Tiber River in the recently gentrified and decidedly hip Testaccio neighbourhood, the MACRO Testaccio is an ideal site for a community of cultural experimentation. 

Built between 1888 and 1891 by Gioacchino Ersoch, architect emeritus of the City of Rome, the pavilions of the Mattatoio illustrate the transition from classicism to modernity and provide an important historical example of the monumentality and rationale of turn-of-the-century industrial architecture. 

For many years, Rome’s Mattatoio was considered among the most advanced industrial designs for the modernity of ingenuity of its organization and architectural tenacity. In 2003, two pavilions from within the Mattatoio complex, comprised of 105,000 square metres (43,000 of which are covered), were assigned to MACRO for use in the development and dissemination of Contemporary Art. 

In keeping with the bistros, clubs, and nightspots that surround it, MACRO’s space at the Mattatoio is open from 4pm until midnight. The scope and layout of the space make it particularly conducive to grand multimedia explorations. In this context local, national, and international artists from the visual and other arts interact and generate a reconfiguration of the Arts through the fusion of different modes of creative expression. 

Arousing a vast and diverse public, MACRO is a dynamic and progressive institution emerging as a multifaceted cultural polestar within which the value of contemporary artistic expression asserts itself.