THE FASCIST CITYSCAPE
The Ancient World in the Fascist Imagination
IMAGE, ABOVE: Map of archaeological zone, 1930s. Archivio Cederna, PIANTA TOPOGRAFICA DELLA ZONA ARCHEOLOGICA DI ROMA stampa fotografica
On April 21, 1922, Mussolini proclaimed to Italy that “Rome is our starting point and reference; it is our symbol, or, if you will, our myth” (Giardina, 48). This was not just idealistic prattle spouted by a man attempting to please a crowd: Rome, in particular Ancient Imperial Rome, loomed large in Mussolini's vision of Italian Fascism. Mussolini sought to link Italian fascism, including his imperial dreams and his vision of remaking Italy into a modern, technologically advanced military power, to the past greatness of Ancient Rome.
Mussolini saw in the ancient ruins of Rome a history overflowing with seemingly impossible feats; its aqueducts and fountains were architectural reminders of the remarkable engerineering prowess of the ancient Romans, while the massive remains of Roman momuments testified to the empire's military conquests. Mussolini wanted to make these monumets a visible, daily reminder of what Rome once was and what it could be again. As Peter Wagener, writing in the 1928 Classical Journal, noted: “will not these resurrected memorials, the very shrine of the empire, cause the hearts of the Italian people to burn once more with national pride and the passion for foreign expansion and world dominance?” (Wagener, 671).
PHOTO: Roman Forum, MU students 2014.
Ancient Excavations in the Heart of Rome
The heart of Mussolini's archeological projects was focused on the excavation and rebuilding of the Rome. Although to the modern tourist the Imperial Forum and the Colosseum appear to be fixed, unchanging monuments of ancient Rome, the contemporary archeological sites which we view today are in reality the products of fascist era excavations, designed to to provide a visual link between Fascism and the ancient world.
Under Mussolini's command, parts of Rome were torn down, monuments erected, ancient sites rearranged, and “progress” made until even the physical structure of the city represented the fascist regime and the power of Mussolini. These changes are most obvious at the very heart of the city where Mussolini ordered the excavation of the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, the Capitoline Hill, Trajan’s Market, and the Pantheon, among other structures.
Mussolini was praised as being an advocate of Rome’s great history and artifacts. He funded these large-scale excavations and encouraged historical exploration with a zeal that was rarely seen during the WWI and WWII eras. However, the early 20th century world did not seem to care that Mussolini’s excavations highlighted only what he wished people to see. The great temples and monuments unearthed during the Fascist reign were excavated in such a way to allow only the supremacy of the Roman Empire to show through. Mussolini himself gives evidence of this in his orders to the governor of Rome in 1931:
“You shall continue to free the great oak’s trunk from everything that is still screening it from light. You shall clear a space around Augustus’ mausoleum, Marcello’s theater, the Capitol, the Pantheon. Everything that grew around them along the decadence centuries should disappear [...] The millenary monuments of our history should be made gigantic within the required solitude” (Giardina, 50).
All that was not ostentatious or a tool for the glorification of the city was either completely ignored or done away with. The housing complexes and modern constructs which Mussolini insisted were smothering the wonders of ancient times were destroyed, and selected remains of Imperial Rome were brought to the surface.
The marble façades of ancient temples, sculpted archways, and towering amphitheaters were made to stand out like beacons against the dingy contemporary architecture that remained to engulf the rest of Rome. According to Higgins in Rome’s Uncomfortable Heritage…, once the destruction and excavations had been completed “…boulevards were created…to enable Fascist parades to take place against a backdrop of Roman archaeology, subliminally suggesting that Rome’s glorious imperial past legitimates the Fascist present” (Higgins, 3).
PHOTO: Teatro di Marcello: MU students 2014
PHOTO: Tomb of Augustus, 1938
ASIL, Concerto di fabbrica nel cantiere di sistemazione di piazza Augusto Imperatore alla presenza di Bruno Biagi.
Codice Foto A0087470