World War II interrupted further expansions; after the Liberation of Rome in June 1944, the stadium was used by the Allies as vehicle storage and as a location for Anglo-American military competitions.

After the war, the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), appointed as operator of the venue, completed construction, and it was opened on 17 May 1953 with a football game between Italy and Hungary.

[9] The 85-hectare area was a swamp at the bottom of a hill called Monte Mario, on the right bank of the river Tiber,[10] in the Della Vittoria quarter.

[9] The Foro Italico sports complex was commissioned by the Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB), a youth organisation established by the Fascist government.

Work commenced in 1928 under the supervision of the architect Enrico Del Debbio,[9][11] and the Stadio dei Cipressi was one of the venues partially completed in time to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of fascism in Italy.

[12] The official opening took place on the 14th anniversary of the Italian victory in World War I, with a gymnastics exhibition organized by the various youth Fascist associations.

[19] With the fall of the Fascism regime in Italy, the Badoglio government abolished Fascist organizations and reassigned their assets to a new agency, called the Commissariato della Gioventù Italiana (Commission for the Italian Youth), with the provision that after the end of World War II, the Commission's assets would be absorbed into either the Defence Office or the Education Department, depending on their purpose.

[30] An International Cup's football match between Italy and Hungary was held, as well as the finish line of the sixth stage (from Naples to Rome) of the Giro d'Italia.

[29] Two electronic scoreboards were also installed atop of the northern and southern stands, starting operation on 18 October 1959 with an association football league match between SS Lazio and AS Roma, the two tenant clubs of the venue, won 3–0 by the latter.

For the first (and only) time in the history of the tournament, a replay was necessary; on 8 June 1968 the match ended 1–1, with a goal by Dragan Džajić equalled in the final minutes by the Italian Angelo Domenghini.

[48] Since both teams' schedules were too full for a two-leg match, the Italian football federation suggested a one-off game at the neutral Olimpico; both clubs agreed.

[59] Liverpool won 3–1, with one goal each by Terry McDermott, Tommy Smith and Phil Neal, and the Dane Allan Simonsen scored a temporary equaliser for the German team.

[69][70] Mid-way between the athletics events was the 1984 European Cup final, well-attended since AS Roma was one of the contestants for the title; the other was Liverpool, the winners at the same venue in 1977.

[13] The Stadio Flaminio expansion was quickly dropped due to lack of space,[13] and a new stadium would have taken too long;[13] architects opposed hasty construction and poor urban planning.

[74] The only feasible proposal was to renovate the Olimpico, and the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) hired architects Vitellozzi (designer of the 1953 stadium) and Clerici and engineers Teresi and Michetti.

[13] The plan, presented in early 1987, consisted of a covered stadium with a capacity of 85,825 via a 6-metre (20 ft) rise of the Tevere and Monte Mario grandstands and rebuilding the Northern and Southern stands.

[81][82] The renovated stadium, completed in April 1990, seated 85,000 and was released to FIFA at the end of May (two weeks late[83] and ten days before the start of the World Cup).

[13] The northern and southern stands were rebuilt 9 metres (30 ft) closer to the short sides of the pitch and the Monte Mario grandstand was extended, replacing the press centre built for the 1987 World Championships in Athletics.

[86] According to experts appointed by judges at Rome's Court of Appeals, the figure was tainted by possible irregularities in the tender; the contract was awarded to the provider with the highest bid.

[92] In the 8 July 1990 final at the Olimpico, West Germany defeated Argentina with an Andreas Brehme penalty kick with six minutes remaining.

In addition to the 1954 European Cup final, Italy played at the Olimpico in 1986, when the team drew 15–15 against England XV in front of 40,000 spectators.

[97] Although the Stadio Flaminio was their usual venue in Rome, Italy played at the Olimpico because the match was a fundraiser for children's aid organizations which wanted a larger stadium.

[98] Rome hosted the European Cup (now the UEFA Champions League) final for the third time several months later, with the Italian club Juventus FC facing the Dutch side AFC Ajax.

[118] The Italy national football team had played 53 matches at the Olimpico in 70 years by December 2023, the most recent of which was a 5–2 win in the EURO 2024 qualifying game against North Macedonia.

[121] Amongst the civilian athletes who also competed in Moscow was Pietro Mennea, who won the 200-metre dash with a faster time than his gold-medal final in the Soviet Union few days before.

The difference in attendance was due to the fact that several hours into the event, its organizers opened the gates of the Olimpico's two curved stands to those without tickets.

[125] Italy played its Six Nations Championship home matches at Stadio Flaminio for 11 seasons after 2000, a 24,000-seat city-owned venue built for the football tournament of the 1960 Olympics across the Tiber a few hundred metres from the Olimpico.

[127][128] The renovation never began, however; Pier Luigi Nervi's heirs received the Flaminio's legalintellectual property rights, giving them veto power over any changes.

[130][131][132] The stadium first hosted the Six Nations Championship on 11 February 2012 during an unusual icy weekend, on a pitch frozen after snow fell on Rome the day before.

[139] The record number of concerts at the Olimpico by non-Italian acts was held in 2023 by the British group Depeche Mode, who performed there five times between 2006 and 2023; their most recent appearances were during their Global Spirit[140] and Memento Mori World Tours.