The E.U.R. Project was initiated in the 1920's financed and inspired by the fascist Mussolini Government of the period the project was never completed. the second world war and summary execution of Mussolini put a stop to his plans. Nevertheless, E.U.R. remains one of the most fascinating areas of Rome and its' surreal architecture has inspired many modern artists including Di Chirico many of whose paintings were inspired by this surreal area of Rome.
This particular building the Palazzo della Civilita or il Colosseo Quadrato (square collosseum) as it is popularly known was the work of Guerrini. Commissioned and completed in the early thirties.
The architectural style is technically known as "bombastic modernism" but in everyday language it is fascist. Indeed EU.R. is full of fascist inspired architecture with the Palazzo della Civilita being one of the most famous buildings in E.U.R and Rome. Recently il Colosseo Quadrato was used by a major sports company for a TV commercial which outraged Rome's cultural minister and benefactor of the arts.
Now unused the building is a relic to a less than illustrious past and it is almost impossible to find any books on fascist architecture from this period. |
