Exploring the EUR The EUR (Esposizione Universale di Roma), commissioned in 1935 by Il Duce, who was keen to display the genius of Italian civilization and the new colonial empire to the world at the World’s Fair of 1942, is located beyond the Baths of Caracalla, along the Via Imperiale, on the way to the sea. Roman Marcello Piacentini was entrusted with overseeing the design of the project, which was to be triumphal and modern, an expression of Rome’s mythic power. The EUR would also be a futuristic district, a white and green city with more than 70 hectares of parks and gardens. Construction began in April 1937, but progress was interrupted due to the war, and the World’s Fair was ultimately canceled. Some buildings opened empty in 1940. One of these was the Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro (Palace of the Civilization of Work), a symbolic palace by architects Giovanni Guerrini, Ernesto Lapadula and Mario Romano. It is 60 meters high, with four identical sides each featuring 6 galleries punctuated by 216 impeccable arches, the whole entirely clad in dazzling travertine. Geometrically pure and smooth, it was also the first building in reinforced concrete to be built in Italy. There are also 28 statues illustrating the virtues of the Italian people (architecture, commerce, philosophy, painting, sculpture, geography, theatre, etc.), flights of steps leading up to the building and gigantic equestrian statues of the Dioscuri, based on the ones on Piazza Quirinale by the Roman sculptor Publio Morbiducci with Alberto Felci. Nicknamed the Colosseo Quadrato (Square Colosseum), the palace was occupied fitfully after the war, its emptiness earning it status as a pure metaphysical monument. From abandonment to revival, the EUR, at long last restored, is now part of 21st-century Roman modernity. Leading architect Massimiliano Fuksas designed the Nuvola here to house the new convention center. And the Square Colosseum has been rented for fifteen years, renewable, to the luxury house Fendi, a decision that has stupefied Romans. The building is partially open to PALAZZO DELLA CIVILTÀ ITALIANA Quadrato della the public thanks to exhibitions and panoramic tours. Impressive. Concordia, 3. Tél. +39 06 3345 0970. www.fendi.com 119 onamoR - aludapaL - inirreuG ©