Palazzo della Civilta Italiana

By Blackcat - I took this photograph with a Kodak EasyShare camera; it has been published also on it.wiki and is also available on my account on Flickr, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37251921

The Square Colosseum, as it is often called, remains the landmark display of fascist architecture. While technically completed in 1940 for Rome's hosting of the World Fair, the building only served any public purpose from 1953 onward, due to the World War. The entire thing is surrounded with travertine marble, the base level hosting many classically-style statues, and the entire building as a whole being a modern homage to Roman tradition. Around the building are equestrian statues of Greek and Roman heroes straight out of mythology. The building remains in commercial usage to this day, apparently by Fendi. However, the ground floor has been converted to an exhibit about the building's history.

My attraction to this may site may seem strange or even off-putting. However, I'm of the opinion that the whole history of Rome must be viewed to gain a truly full experience. That includes fascist Rome, warts and all. Furthermore, the building isn't terribly unappealing, and perhaps more importantly it helps one get into the mind of fascist beliefs, primarily the aspiration of Mussolini to Ancient Rome. I believe that one should try to understand all political philosophies, even terrible ones that have horrible things, because only thourgh understanding the ideas and how they were arrived at can one  then truly avoid the thinking that leads to those terrible ideas.