The architectural eclecticism of Mussolini's Italy

2016-06-01T13:18:00-04:00

...Mussolini, at least for his first decade in power, wasn’t quite as interested in architecture as his fellow dictators. While enthusiastically censoring film-makers, writers, academics and journalists, he let architects do as they please [...] The resulting architectural output, between Mussolini’s rise to power in 1922 and the late 1930s, when he began to exert more control, embodies an accidentally healthy pluralism.

"While Hitler rejoiced in the traditional völkisch kitsch of his imaginary master race, and Stalin revelled in over-iced baroque confections, Mussolini sat back and let historicist revivalism compete with the crisp forms of forward-looking modernism."

For more on the architecture of fascism, check out these links:

Second life for fascist architecture: Will Mussolini's Square Colosseum become a Palazzo for Fendi?
Italy’s planned Holocaust museum moving to EUR, Mussolini’s expo site
Philip Johnson, the fascist
"Hitler at Home" by Despina Stratigakos
Controversy over Hitler's Prora beach resort continues
Le Corbusier "militant fascist" claims overshadow 50th death anniversary

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The architectural eclecticism of Mussolini's Italy