Evd Milan, a company owned by German company CTS Eventim Group, who will operate the Arena, have commissioned civil engineering firm Trevi Finanziaria Industriale Spa to begin piling works on the venue.

It marks the start of work on the largest and most modern multifunctional arena in Italy and the accompanying development of the new Santa Giulia district.

Renowned architect David Chipperfield had joined forces with international consultants Arup on the design of the Arena.

Trevi has set up a construction site and will start driving in the first piles that will form the deep foundations of the new Arena.

In parallel, a general contractor is due to be commissioned in the next few weeks to build the Arena.

Work had been due to begin last year but was delayed by a legal appeal by The Sisters of Reparation, a Roman Catholic order located close to the facility.

They had claimed that the new facility would encroach on the institute and break rules regarding legal noise limits.

Construction of the venue, set to hold up to 16,000 people, is expected to take two-and-a-half years.

The project design includes a piazza with more than 10,000m2 of space for summer festivals and open-air events.

The ensemble will be a prime location for national and international live events and will be part of CTS Eventim’s portfolio of world-class venues, which include the Waldbühn, a theatre built for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin on the request of Germany’s then-Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, and which staged boxing during the Games.

After Milan Cortina 2026, Arena Santa Giulia will be a multi-purpose venue.

The elliptical form of the building is inspired by the archetype of the amphitheatre, being reinterpreted with modern tectonics and materials, David Chipperfield revealed when announcing the design.

"We are now looking forward to the next phase of construction," Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, chief executive of the CTS Eventim Group, said.

"Trevi has decades of experience with this type of specialised foundation work, which will ensure a successful start to the arena’s construction.

"Together, we aim to create a high-quality events venue in Italy that will transform Milan into an attractive hub for the sports and entertainment industries with a global reach."