Il Palazzo della Civilta Italiana

3 - Case Study and Discussion 3.1 - Fascism in Italy

Italy has been the home of civilizations since the 700s BCE, making it a very culturally rich and diverse place. (Macbeth, 2018) So much is evident by the sheer amount and size of heritage sights spread throughout both the metropolitan cities and urban landscapes; therefore conservation of monuments has always been a top priority and concern of the nation. However, not all its heritage necessarily paints Italy under a bright light: as of today, there are many Fascist buildings still standing, and given they cannot be displayed in a museum as was the case with Colston’s statue, a very thoroughly considered practice of conservation has to be carried out when dealing with such controversial structures. Firstly, one must understand the historical and political context surrounding such heritage.

Fascism is a far right-wing political ideology characterised by dictatorial power, extreme nationalism and natural social hierarchy. It grew presence in Italy in 1922 under the rule of Benito Mussolini, who was the dictator until its fall in 1943. During these 21 years (ventennio) Mussolini used architecture to lead the movement in Italy, imprinting Fascist ideologies on the landscape and developing a new architectural language; “No period of modern Italian history left a greater legacy of state-sponsored architecture than the ventennio.” (Jones and Pilat, 2020) However, architecture was not solely

3.2 - Casa del Fascio

A common set of fascist buildings spread throughout Italy were the Case del Fascio (CDF). These were office buildings which hosted local representatives of the party to overview civic life and political action in the neighbourhood. 5000 CDFs were built over the span of the fascist regime. Most of these were realised with classical language and are recognizable by the presence of the Lictor Tower : “the most representative landmark in the fascist city”. (Jones and Pilat, 2020) Often endorsed in the imperial eagles, the main symbolic emblem of the regime, the tower provided a balcony for fascist authorities to give speeches.

While these traditionally designed CDFs have very evident connotations with Fasist ideologies, and are therefore categorised with an unwanted semantic value two particular CDF’s were designed under the theory of rationalism by Giuseppe Terragni resulting in a more experimental style which stands out from the rest. In particular la Casa del Fascio of Como is a well renowned piece of architecture considered one of the regime’s highest artistic achievements.

The lack of Fascist propaganda and symbolism in this building meant that no intervention on the structure had to be done to remove the emblems. Thus far, it follows the guidelines of The Venice Charter; specifically Article 7 “A monument is inseparable from the history to which it bears witness and from the setting in which it occurs.” (Gazzola and Lemaire, 1964) Or in Del’s and Tabrizi’s terminology, by not performing any physical changes to the structure, for the purpose of removing fascist emblems, it increased the overall Authenticity and Historic values without having to sacrifice any other value in its place. The absence of both controversial insignia and by consequence interventions

Figure 4 - La Casa del Fascio, Como, front Facade - Meroni, A, 2022

to the exterior façades allows the viewer to place a stronger focus on the architectural qualities of the heritage without the negative connotations of the building overshadowing the design factor. “Simple geometric compositions, abstract volumes, minimal ornaments – with elements of classicism, such as columns, pilaster strips, pediments, and niches.” (Jones and Pilat, 2020) All come together to demonstrate the skilful craftsmanship of Rationalism. As discussed the interplay between modernism and neo-classical vernacular architecture was the language of the ventennio, and terragni designed a building which showcases these qualities at their highest potential. The architectural and aesthetic value is evident; and the ability of the structure to inform and proudly display theories of Rationalism and the architectural movement which overtook Italy in the early 20th century provide the heritage with a further educational value.