Italy’s unfinished buildings: 5 must-see examples

We live in the “Bel Paese”. Or at least, that’s what we are told through the epithet most often used to describe Italy. Yet, when looking at the photographs collected in Incompiuto (Emuse, 2024) by the Roman photographer Roberto Giangrande, one cannot help but wonder if the opposite might be true. Between 2016 and 2019, Giangrande travelled across Italy to document a phenomenon that has blighted the national landscape for decades: that of the incompiuto, the unfinished.
The result of this personal Grand Tour is crystallized in around fifty shots portraying infrastructures, office complexes, hospitals, sports facilities, and residential buildings, some abandoned to the landscape like carcasses, others completed and even furnished, yet never inaugurated.

“The origin of this project lies in an absence,” Giangrande tells Domus. “I’ve been living in France for years, and only here — where unfinished buildings practically don’t exist, at least not at this scale or with these characteristics — did I realize this was a distinctly Italian phenomenon. The preliminary research was extremely long: with no existing database of unfinished works, I had to rely on forums, blogs, and online magazines to identify the most significant examples. Once selected, the only way to measure the visual impact of each site was to go there and photograph it myself.”

A true architectural style — the most significant of recent decades, according to the well-known thesis put forward by Alterazioni Video and Fosbury Architecture — the incompiuto evokes a peculiar fascination akin to that of ruins. Yet, whether framed as isolated architectures or in dialogue with their surroundings, the unfinished buildings documented by Giangrande primarily serve as a lens to tell stories of corruption, organized crime, environmental degradation, and economic waste — stories that intertwine with these perpetual construction sites. His work captures, beyond the recklessness of speculation and bureaucratic paralysis, the collapse of a community. And in doing so, it offers architectural photography the opportunity to become an instrument of social indignation.

An exhibition of Incompiuto is currently on view (until 19 October 2025) at the Torre Viscontea in Lecco, as part of the 28th edition of Immagimondo, organized by Les Cultures APS.

The story of Pizzo Sella — known as “the hill of shame” — is one of the most emblematic cases of illegal construction and mafia-driven speculation in Sicily. In 1978, the Municipality of Palermo issued hundreds of building permits to Sicilcalce Spa, managed by Rosa Greco, sister of Cosa Nostra boss Michele Greco. Around 170 villas were built, often in violation of the law and through corruption and money laundering practices. Irregularities soon emerged: the area was under landscape and hydrogeological protection. The judiciary began investigations that led to the seizure of the area and a long legal process. In the 2000s, following confiscation, the area remained largely abandoned; about fifty villas were legalized, while the others were left incomplete. Since 2013, the site has been partially revitalized thanks to street artist collectives who created the Pizzo Sella Art Village, turning the ghostly structures into canvases for murals and installations. Today, the future of Pizzo Sella remains uncertain — suspended between demolition orders and redevelopment proposals — a deep scar on the city and a reminder of the landscape devastation wrought by corruption and institutional neglect.

Initially designed as an ancillary infrastructure for the future Messina Strait Bridge, the variant later became part of a broader strategy to strengthen both local and national railway networks, including the new Salerno–Reggio Calabria High-Speed Line. In the 2000s, the project was approved by the CIPE (Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning), which allocated €19 million for its first phase. On 10 March 2010, an agreement was signed between the Prefecture, Stretto di Messina Spa, Eurolink Scpa, and trade unions to ensure legality on the construction sites in response to mafia pressure and ‘Ndrangheta infiltration in public contracts. Over time, the project evolved: from a simple logistical variant, it became a strategic node ensuring service continuity during tunnel construction and later a key component in integrating southern Italy into the national high-speed rail network. The public debate, reopened between October 2023 and January 2024, involved local authorities and citizens to discuss impacts, benefits, and legal implications.

Launched in the 1980s as a “pilot center for the integrated development of Apulian tourism,” the project aimed to host activities supporting the economic revitalization of the Gargano area. The Puglia Region allocated the initial funding — 23 billion lire — followed by another 38.86 billion lire from the State Budget and the Cassa del Mezzogiorno.
Construction began in mid-1988, awarded to a consortium of companies including Italscavi spa, Icamar srl, Trisciuglio srl (Foggia), Giannotta (Cannole, LE), and Diemme Costruzioni. From the start, the project suffered from design changes, chronic delays, and disputes over procurement procedures.In 2023, the complex was purchased by MARTUR srl, but no agreement has yet been reached regarding its redevelopment or reuse.

Designed in the early 2000s by architect Vittorio Guasti to link the railway station with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) area, the Ponte Nord was inaugurated in 2012. The steel-and-glass tunnel structure, intended to host exhibition, commercial, and cultural spaces, remains incomplete and lacks authorization for permanent use due to the Galasso Law, which prohibits permanent construction on riverbeds. The bridge thus became an empty shell, usable only for temporary events and pedestrian or cycling passage. The municipality has since attempted, unsuccessfully, to obtain legislative exemptions. In 2024, a redevelopment project was presented to transform the bridge into the headquarters of the Po River Basin Authority, including exhibition spaces for events. The works, expected to conclude in 2025, are financed through state funds. However, full management and public access remain to be defined.

In 1983, the Autonomous Institute for Public Housing of Venice launched an architectural competition to redevelop Campo Marte on the Giudecca island. Announced in 1985, the competition was won by Álvaro Siza, with Aldo Rossi among his collaborators. The first part of the “L”-shaped building — 32 apartments — was delivered in 2008 and officially completed in 2009. However, the second section, comprising 19 apartments, remained unfinished for years and was only resumed by ATER in September 2024. External urban works such as paving, utilities, and the central square’s landscaping remain incomplete. Meanwhile, the building designed by Rafael Moneo, meant to close the complex, was never started due to a 2021 dispute between ATER and the City of Venice over funding and service implementation.

Opening image: Photo Roberto Giangrande