the Temple of Mithras, London

Art and Monuments
Written By Marco Fazio

granite panels for an ancient monument

The Roman temple of Mithras is located underneath the Bloomberg's new European Headquarters in the City of London, which was awarded the 2018 RIBA Stirling Prize for Architecture.

Discovered in 1954 during a bomb site clearance, the temple was dismantled and temporarily reconstructed on a site about 100 m away. When the site was made safe again, and before the new building was constructed, Bloomberg undertook the restoration of the temple to its original location and created a free public museum giving access to it.

We were subcontracted by PAYE to inscribe lettering and a representation of original planimetry onto black granite panels. The panels, supplied by PAYE, were placed at the entrance to the archaeological site.

The carved inscriptions give the historical information and a timeline of the various depths as you descend the stairs to the Roman temple, which now lies seven metres below the surface.

project details

  • client: Bloomberg L.P.

  • general contractor: PAYE Stonework & Restoration Ltd.

  • material: black granite

Marco Fazio

Marco Joe Fazio is CCO and director of photography at space+style™ by marco joe fazio Ltd, working in fashion, hospitality, food & drink, architecture and design.

Born and raised in Tuscany, Italy, Marco learned the rudiments of photography and the magic of the darkroom in his early school years. Thereafter, he worked in architecture, interior, and lighting design for two decades. During those years, Marco founded an award-winning architectural studio and managed a multidisciplinary design team, working mainly for fashion industry clients.

Since moving to London in 2008, Marco has been recognised as a Chartered Architect of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) while pursuing his dream of connecting the worlds of architecture, design, and fashion from the photographer's perspective.

After years of passionate dedication, hard work and professional achievements, he was awarded the Fellowship certification (FBIPP) by the British Institute of Professional Photography and won the Peter Grugeon Award for the Best Fellowship of the Year in 2016. Subsequently, he has been admitted as a member of the highly regarded Association of Photographers (AOP). 

Having achieved a stronghold in coordinated image and photography for the design and fashion world, Marco has taken his expertise into the hospitality market; luxury and boutique hotels, fine dining restaurants, and the drinks and beverage industry are all reaping benefits from his services.

Today, Marco is leading his agency in assignments in the hospitality, fashion, and design industries.

Creative photography, cinematography, coordinated images and brand marketing form the core of his services.

Thanks to more than a decade in the music industry, Marco has expendable knowledge in composition and sound engineering. That knowledge is a valuable asset in creating licensed soundtracks and magnetic sound designs for commercial productions.

Marco's passion and another branch of his business are mentoring and nurturing new visual arts talents. In 2016, he launched "telling [fashion] stories" – photography & set design workshops – and more recently, he has become a lecturer for the School of Art and Creative Industries at London South Bank University (LSBU).

The crossover between genres and industries is a peculiar and essential factor in his work, contributing to thinking outside the box and achieving a unique style rich in symbolism and content.

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