Acqua Sacra (the outdoor pool and bar complex in the EUR neighborhood, the Esposizione Universale Roma (EUR), the Fascist-era planned suburb built in the 1930s-1940s for the 1942 World Exposition that the Second World War cancelled, now a southern Rome administrative and business district with the specific monumental architecture (the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, the "Square Colosseum" of 1943) and the specific rational urban planning (the broad avenues, the lakes, and the systematic block organization) that the Fascist urban program imposed on the site): the Acqua Sacra (the "Sacred Water", the name referencing the specific spring water tradition of the EUR site) occupies the outdoor pool complex in the EUR lake zone, providing the specific summer pool experience that the EUR neighborhood's residential and business community uses as its primary summer recreation infrastructure.
The EUR context: the EUR neighborhood (12km south of Rome's historic center, accessible by Metro B from Termini or Laurentina stations in approximately 20 minutes) is the most coherently Fascist-era planned urban environment in Italy that remains in full civic use, the monumental architecture (the Palazzo dello Sport of Pier Luigi Nervi (1960 Olympics), the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, and the Museo della Civiltà Romana) and the specific rational street grid have produced an unusually complete single urban atmosphere that the postwar Italian state used for the 1960 Olympics infrastructure and that the current Rome municipality uses for administrative and commercial functions. The Acqua Sacra pool complex occupies a specific zone adjacent to the EUR artificial lakes (the Lago dell'EUR, the artificial lake created in the 1930s planning, used for rowing (the 1960 Olympics rowing events were held here) and for the current EUR recreational circuit).
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Acqua Sacra: Pool, Bar, and EUR Summer
The Pool and Bar
Acqua Sacra EUR pool and bar (the outdoor complex open approximately May-September, the specific summer pool season that the EUR climate (the slightly cooler EUR temperatures compared to the historic center, due to the green spaces and the lake proximity) makes particularly rewarding in the July-August peak): the Acqua Sacra facilities (the outdoor pool, the bar terrace, and the specific EUR summer afternoon atmosphere (the EUR resident community using the pool in the way that the Italian urban community uses the neighborhood club pool, the specific social format of the pool-side conversation, the aperitivo (pre-dinner drink with snacks) at the poolside bar, and the late afternoon swim before the evening walk along the lake)): check the current Acqua Sacra schedule and access conditions at the EUR municipality website or by calling the complex directly, the Acqua Sacra access conditions (day pass or membership) may vary by season and by year.
Acqua Sacra: tours & tickets
Compare guided tours, skip-the-line tickets and day trips for Acqua Sacra.
See availability & prices →Compare tours on Viator →We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.The EUR Walk Combination
Acqua Sacra EUR afternoon combination (the specific EUR half-day itinerary): the Museo della Civiltà Romana (the Museum of Roman Civilization in the EUR palazzo, the specific scale model of ancient Rome (the Plastico di Roma Antica, the 1:250 scale reconstruction of the entire city of Rome at the time of Constantine the Great) that is the most complete and most technically impressive single archaeological model in any Italian museum): the museum + the Acqua Sacra afternoon (the museum in the morning, the pool and bar in the afternoon) constitutes the most specifically EUR-centered single day available in Rome outside the EUR business environment.
Q&A: Acqua Sacra EUR Rome
Why does almost nobody know about the Acqua Sacra?
The specific Acqua Sacra obscurity factors: the EUR neighborhood (the location is 12km from the historic center, outside the standard tourist circuit). The membership/day-pass access model (the Acqua Sacra is a club pool rather than a public pool, the access requires either membership or a day pass, creating the specific barrier that the standard Rome tourist doesn't get around). And the absence of international promotion (the Acqua Sacra is used primarily by the EUR resident community and isn't in any English-language Rome guide or Rome travel blog). The specific Acqua Sacra value for the visitor: the combination of the specific EUR monumental architecture visible from the pool surroundings, the specific Roman pool-side social atmosphere, and the relative uncrowding (the Acqua Sacra is substantially less crowded than the historic-center hotel rooftop pools on summer weekends) makes the Acqua Sacra the most specifically off-the-beaten-track summer pool experience available in Rome.
