Palazzo della Civilta Italiana, Rome

The most imposing and symbolic building in the EUR district of Rome is without doubt the Palazzo della Civilta Italiana, which is also known as the “Square Colosseum”.

This building was commissioned by Benito Mussolini and was intended to be the centerpiece of the 1942 World’s Fair. Work began on it in 1938 and it was finished in 1943. Of course, the Fair didn’t take place because of the Second World War, but the building remains as a symbol of Italian Fascist architecture. Mussolini wanted an edifice that would remind people of the ancient Colosseum, and give them the impression that fascism would last forever. 68 meters high and covering more than 8000 square meters, the palace is composed of six levels of nine arches – a conceit of Mussolini’s to match the numbers of letters in his name. It is built of limestone and tuff (volcanic ash consolidated into rock) and sheathed in marble.

Above the sixth level on each side of the building you can see an inscription, which in English reads: “A nation of poets, of artists, of heroes, of saints, of thinkers, of scientists, of sailors, of transmigrates”. There are many statues around the palazzo, with equestrian statues of Castor and Pollux and twenty-eight figures that highlight Italian supremacy in all fields including agriculture, the arts, astronomy, crafts, philosophy and political genius.