INTRODUCTION

Rome, with its unshakable reputation as the Eternal City, has seen versions of itself rise and fall for millennia, constantly evolving with the changing rulers, citizens, and world around it. In Ancient times, the city was shaped by the political agenda of the Caesars, representing the power of the Roman Empire and their stranglehold on the Mediterranean. From the Medieval through the Baroque eras, the city was ruled by the popes, with the Catholic Church and their imperial powers helping to restore and expand Rome. In modern times, Rome was governed anew by a monarchy after the unification of Italy, with a new reputation as the country’s capital. 

When Benito Mussolini rose to power in 1922, he inherited a city that was a palimpsest of powers and worldly influences. In order to support his Fascist ideologies, spread his viewpoints, and create a Rome befitting his new power, Mussolini embarked on staggering and dramatic changes to Rome’s urban fabric. From mass demolitions to new complexes, Mussolini and his regime drew inspiration from the previous 2500 years in order to create the newest version of Rome under the Fascist regime. 

While the regime only lasted from 1922-1943, there are clear remnants of the regime that continue to live on throughout the nation's capital. This has worked to create moments of controversy on whether or not Fascist iconography or monuments should be removed. For architecture more broadly, sharp tensions have been formed due to the remnants of the regime and their Fascist goals that are clearly displayed in various buildings throughout the city. Can one look at a building that was clearly built or modified by the Fascist regime and still find beauty in its striking design? Or does its Fascist past and political background remove this sense of beauty that could have otherwise been appreciated? This exhibition addresses these tensions and presents the moments where the Fascist regime and its agenda still continue on to this day. It will explore how the regime has permanently impacted the city, and how pieces of the regime continue to live on through iconography, monuments, and their architectural decisions.  

This exhibition works to pull back three core layers of the “eternal city” – the ancient, the papal, and the modern – in order to understand how the Fascist regime modified and “liberated” the city, through the means of excavation, restoration, deconstruction, and new construction. Through photography, we are able to demonstrate the regime's manipulation of Rome and its peripheries over time. nar proin