What is rooftopping?

The practice of climbing onto the roofs of buildings, often very tall ones, and documenting it on social media has recently reached unprecedented levels of popularity. The significant success of content showcasing these climbs has drawn more people to this dangerous pastime. Known as rooftopping, the activity is almost always done illegally, often without using ropes or harnesses. Last year, a group of young people climbed to the top of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele to make graffiti on the roof and then posted a video of the act on their social media accounts. Shortly after, two young men aged 18 and 20, both of French origin, were stopped by the police while attempting to climb Milan Cathedral in an effort to reach the Madonnina – reportedly to document the feat online.

In recent weeks, Italian media have resumed discussing the phenomenon of rooftopping: in June, during a concert by Sfera Ebbasta, a 17-year-old managed to climb to the top of San Siro Stadium. However, through the photos posted online, law enforcement quickly identified him. Judging by Instagram, the practice of rooftopping seems most popular in Europe and North America; in Italy, those who have attempted to scale buildings are often inspired directly by some U.S. influencers. In Milan, the most popular rooftopper appears to be Michael Raimondo, who has gained a fair following on social media by showcasing his climbs of the tallest rooftops in Milan.

Rooftopping is not entirely new: within certain small communities, it has been practiced for a long time as it incorporates some elements of free solo climbing—climbing without ropes or other safety gear—and exploring abandoned buildings. The activity likely originates from a form of climbing that emerged in the early 20th century called "buildering." It was popular among some English college students who began climbing their university buildings, also without protection. The practice gained such popularity that it eventually became somewhat recognized, further boosting its appeal. Harry Gardiner was the first to practice this in a non-amateur way, climbing over 700 buildings across Europe and North America starting in 1905. Rooftopping differs from buildering because the selected structure does not necessarily need to be climbed from the outside: what matters is reaching the top, and in some cases, the roof can be easily accessed from the inside, albeit secretly. In this sense, it can be seen as a less extreme version of buildering, though it remains illegal and very dangerous, as it often involves crossing ledges and overhangs at great heights.

Initially, rooftopping spread in Russia and China, where, starting in 2010, some young people began filming their climbs—sometimes making them more spectacular with small acrobatics and risky maneuvers. About ten years ago, a video of two Russian men climbing one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world, the Dabaihui Plaza, went viral. They entered the building illegally and climbed to the top. In 2017, a well-known rooftopper in China—with over a million followers on Weibo (China's equivalent of Twitter)—died after falling from the 62nd floor of a skyscraper while preparing one of his videos. Despite several examples of rooftoppers involved in fatal accidents during their climbs, the spectacle of this activity has attracted more people to the "hobby." As reported in an article by CNN, despite the illegality of the practice and the high risk of accidents, in some cases sponsors have funded the climbs.