Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana

Overview

The Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana — universally known as the "Square Colosseum" — is the defining icon of the EUR district and one of the most arresting examples of Italian Rationalist architecture in existence. Its four identical travertine facades, each pierced by 54 arches in a 6×9 grid, reinterpret the ancient Colosseum in pure geometric form.

Highlights

• Architecture: Designed by Guerrini, La Padula, and Romano, the building achieves perfect symmetry — identical on all four sides, 68 meters tall, with 216 arches total. It is simultaneously monumental and eerily weightless.
• Latin Inscription: The famous dedicatory text — "A people of poets, artists, heroes, saints, thinkers, scientists, navigators, and migrants" — runs across all four facades beneath the top row of arches.
• Maison Fendi: Since 2015, the building has housed the global headquarters of Fendi, giving this monument of Fascist-era architecture an unlikely and elegant second life.

History

Commissioned by Mussolini in 1935 as the centerpiece of the planned 1942 World Exhibition (E42), construction ran from 1938 to 1943 but the exhibition was cancelled due to the war. The building stood empty and abandoned for over a decade after 1945 before the EUR district was rebranded as a modern business and residential quarter in preparation for the 1960 Rome Olympics.

Visitor Tips

• The exterior is freely accessible at all times; the interior houses Fendi offices and is not open to the public.
• Late afternoon is the ideal time to visit: the low sun casts deep shadows through the arches and the travertine glows warm.
• Combine with a walk through the broader EUR district to see other examples of Rationalist and monumental architecture.