ROAD wants to create a sustainable innovation hub in the city of Rome, an open and inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem capable of attracting public and private stakeholders by creating a value chain, and becoming a reference point for events and education activities and a place for creative experimentation. ROAD aims to be an open, accessible and inclusive place, a breeding ground for talent, a centre of knowledge and advanced research, and a community aggregator. It presents itself as a playground where engineers, designers, natural and social scientists can work together to develop solutions that are concretely oriented towards a sustainable future. ROAD wants to create a sustainable innovation hub in the city of Rome, an open and inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem capable of attracting public and private actors, creating a value chain and becoming a reference point for events, education activities and a place for creative experimentation. ROAD aims to be an open, accessible and inclusive space, a hotbed of talent, a centre of knowledge and advanced research and a community aggregator. It presents itself as a playground where engineers, designers, natural and social scientists can work together to develop solutions that are concretely oriented towards a sustainable future.

ROAD is an 'open-air lab', a network of companies capable of bringing together the public and private sectors (corporations, SMEs, institutions, universities, start-ups and research centres) in which to experiment with technologies in agile mode, generating a cross-fertilisation process with an integrated supply chain perspective. ROAD is an 'open-air lab', a network of companies capable of bringing together the public and private sectors (corporations, SMEs, institutions, universities, start-ups and research centres) in which to experiment with technologies in agile mode, generating a cross-fertilisation process with an integrated supply chain perspective.

The roads that lead to Rome do not only cross space, but also time. Past, present and future intersect at a very specific point in the eternal city: the area of the Ex Gazometro Ostiense.

Here the past is still clearly visible in the ruins of what, for about half a century during the 20th century, was the capital's energy hub. In the now disused plants and factories trains loaded with coal flowed, from which the gas that powered the city was extracted. In 1909, commissioned by Mayor Ernesto Nathan, the Gazometro was built together with the gas plant, the future headquarters of Italgas. The massive metal structure of the Gazometro was assembled between 1935 and 1937 by the Genoese company Ansaldo. Next to the main cylinder, three other gasometers were erected, each with its own purpose: one was converted into a gas pressure reduction plant, another became a technical building housing a thermal power station and storage spaces, while the third was converted into a multi-storey car park.

Since 2006, the area surrounding the Gazometro has been on an important path of urban regeneration and rehabilitation. In that year, the Municipality of Rome, in collaboration with Eni, launched one of the first projects to enhance the area with the creation of the 'Luxometro' work of art. This redevelopment transformed the Gazometro from an industrial symbol into a cultural and artistic icon in the city of Rome.