Casa del Fascio (House of Beams), Como

In the heart of Como, directly opposite the cathedral, stands the striking House of Beams (Casa del Fascio), also known as Palazzo Terragni, a hallmark of Italian rationalist architecture. Completed in 1936 and designed by architect Giuseppe Terragni, the building occupies a perfect square plan measuring approximately 33.2 meters on each side, with a height that is precisely half its width.

As you approach, you'll immediately notice the harmonious balance of solid and void on its façades. Each of the four elevations is unique yet cohesive, composed with rhythmic interplay of opaque Botticino marble panels and transparent glass‑block surfaces that hint at the spatial layout within. Terragni’s design brilliantly uses geometry and proportion to frame natural light and human movement-a sculptural metaphor for the ideology it was meant to embody.

Stepping inside, the double‑height Salone delle Adunate opens up under a glass‑block skylight, once painted a soft bluish‑green and softly illuminated. The space originally held frescoes by Mario Radice and political iconography, removed after 1945, but today it retains a serene, monumental quality. The atrium and main staircase are clad in black Belgian marble, lending an austere elegance to this once‑ideological interior.

For visitors, the House of Beams offers more than striking architecture-it is a powerful lens onto 20th‑century Italy. Though built as a headquarters for Mussolini’s party, after WWII it served civic purposes and from 1957 became the seat of Italy’s Guardia di Finanza. Its cultural significance was officially recognized in 1986 when it was protected by the Superintendency. Today, it stands not only as an architectural icon but as a testimony to the complex interplay of ideology, art, and historical memory.