Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana
Arcaded travertine palace built as the centerpiece of a fascist world's fair that was never held.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana in Rome starts with the inscription cut into every face of the building, words from a 1935 Mussolini speech, and the nickname locals gave the place: the Square Colosseum. It follows the legend that the architects encoded the dictator's name into the six levels and nine arches of its design, and the 1942 World's Fair the palace was built to anchor before construction stalled. Walk around all four sides and count the arches for yourself before you look up at the lettering above them.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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