History
The building was designed in 1938 by Vittorio Cafiero, [1] the designer of the city plan of Asmara, and Mario Ridolfi, [2] one of the masters of Italian Rationalism, and was originally designated to be the seat of the Ministry of Italian Africa: this was named until 1937, the year of the Italian conquest of Ethiopia, the Ministry of the Colonies, and was abolished in 1953. In front of the enormous building a four lane avenue was opened; it was named "Viale Africa" after it, and renamed "Viale Aventino", after the hill which faces the building, in 1945. [3] The palace was still unfinished when Italy surrendered to the allies in September 1943. The construction works, now directed only by Cafiero, started again in 1947, and the building was supposed to host the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication [2] After the decision to assign the edifice to FAO, the building was enlarged, and work was finished in 1952. [1] [2] The Italian State endowed to the building the right of extraterritoriality, and rented it to FAO for the symbolic rate of one US dollar, to be paid yearly in advance. [1]
In 1937, after the invasion of Ethiopia, Italian army specialists had brought to Rome the second longest Stele among the many existing in Axum. The 4th-century monolith, which in Ethiopia lay for centuries on the ground and was broken in several pieces, was erected in front of the area designated to host the Ministry of Italian Africa building, in order to show the usage of the new complex. In 2005, after restoration, the stele was taken back to Ethiopia and erected in Axum by the Italian Government.
The Quirinal Hill is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Palace; by metonymy "the Quirinal" has come to stand for the Italian president. The Quirinal Palace has an extension of 1.2 million sq ft (110,000 m2).
Axum, also spelled Aksum, is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents. It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire.
The Obelisk of Axum is a 4th-century CE, 24-metre (79 ft) tall phonolite stele, weighing 160 tonnes, in the city of Axum in Ethiopia. It is ornamented with two false doors at the base and features decorations resembling windows on all sides. The obelisk ends in a semi-circular top, which used to be enclosed by metal frames.
Castro Pretorio is the 18th rione of Rome, Italy, identified by the initials R. XVIII, and it is located within the Municipio I. The rione takes its name by the ruins of the Castrum Praetorium, the barracks of the Praetorian Guard, included in the Aurelian Walls.
The Palazzo Venezia or Palazzo Barbo, formerly "'Palace of Saint Mark'", is a large early Renaissance palace in central Rome, Italy, situated to the north of the Capitoline Hill. Today the property of the Republic of Italy it houses the National Museum of the Palazzo Venezia. The main (eastern) facade measures 77 metres (253 ft) in length, with a height of about 31 metres (102 ft). The north wing, containing the "Cibo Apartment", extending westwards, measures 122 metres (400 ft) in length. It covers an area of 1.2 hectares and encloses two gardens and the Basilica of Saint Mark. It was built in the present form during the 1450s by Cardinal Pietro Barbo (1417-1471), titular holder of the Basilica of Saint Mark, who from 1464 ruled as Pope Paul II. Barbo, a Venetian by birth as was customary for cardinals of the Basilica of Saint Mark, lived there even as pope and amassed there a great collection of art and antiquities. During the first half of the 20th century it became the residence and headquarters of the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who made notable orations from its balcony to huge crowds filling the Piazza Venezia.
Palazzo Montecitorio is a palace in Rome and the seat of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Italian Parliament.
King Ezana's Stele is a 4th century obelisk in the ancient city of Axum, in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. The monument stands in the middle of the Northern Stelae Park, which contains hundreds of smaller and less decorated stelae. This stele is probably the last one erected and the largest of those that remain unbroken. King Ezana of Axum's Stele stands 21 m (69 ft) tall, smaller than the collapsed 33 m (108 ft) Great Stele and the better-known 24 m (79 ft) "Obelisk of Axum". It is decorated with a false door at its base and apertures resembling windows on all sides.
Palazzo Braschi is a large Neoclassical palace in Rome, Italy and is located between the Piazza Navona, the Campo de' Fiori, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Piazza di Pasquino. It presently houses the Museo di Roma, the "Museum of Rome", covering the history of the city in the period from the Middle Ages through the nineteenth century.
The Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, also known as the Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro, or in everyday speech as the Colosseo Quadrato, is a building in the EUR district in Rome. It was designed in 1938 by three Italian architects: Giovanni Guerrini, Ernesto La Padula, and Mario Romano. The building is an example of Italian Rationalism and fascist architecture with neoclassical design, representing romanità, a philosophy which encompasses the past, present, and future all in one. The enormity of the structure is meant to reflect the fascist regime's new course in Italian history. The design of the building draws inspiration from the Colosseum with rows of arches. According to legend, the structure's six vertical and nine horizontal arches are correlated to the number of letters in the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's name.
Foro Italico is a sports complex in Rome, Italy, on the slopes of Monte Mario. It was built between 1928 and 1938 as the Foro Mussolini under the design of Enrico Del Debbio and, later, Luigi Moretti. Inspired by the Roman forums of the imperial age, its design is lauded as a preeminent example of Italian fascist architecture instituted by Mussolini. The purpose of the prestigious project was to get the Olympic Games of 1940 to be organised by fascist Italy and held in Rome.
Viale Aventino is a street that links Piazza di Porta Capena and Piazza Albania in Rome (Italy). It marks the boundary between the Rione Ripa and San Saba.
Florestano Di Fausto was an Italian architect, engineer and politician who is best known for his building designs in the Italian overseas territories around the Mediterranean. He is considered the most important colonial architect of the Fascist age in Italy and has been described as the "architect of the Mediterranean". Uncontested protagonist of the architectural scene first in the Italian Islands of the Aegean and then in Italian Libya, he was gifted with a remarkable preparation combined with consummate skills, which allowed him to master and to use indifferently and in any geographical context the most diverse architectural styles, swinging between eclecticism and rationalism. His legacy, long neglected, has been highlighted since the 1990s.
Palazzo Cesi-Armellini, sometimes known plainly as Palazzo Cesi, is a late Renaissance building in Rome. It is considered important for historical and architectural reasons. The palace, which should not be confused with Palazzo Cesi-Gaddi, Palazzo Muti-Cesi, or the destroyed Palazzo Cesi, placed also in Borgo near the southern Colonnade of St. Peter's square, is one of the few Renaissance buildings of the rione Borgo to have survived the destruction of the central part of the neighborhood due to the 20th century construction of Via della Conciliazione, the avenue leading to St. Peter's Basilica. Today, it is owned by the Society of the Divine Savior and part of it is used as their motherhouse.
Palazzo Serristori is a Renaissance building in Rome, important for historical and architectural reasons. The palace is one of the few Renaissance buildings of the rione Borgo to have outlived the destruction of the central part of the neighborhood due to the building of Via della Conciliazione, the grand avenue leading to St. Peter's Basilica.
Palazzo dei Convertendi is a reconstructed Renaissance palace in Rome. It originally faced the Piazza Scossacavalli, but was demolished and rebuilt along the north side of Via della Conciliazione, the wide avenue constructed between 1936 and 1950, which links St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican City to the centre of Rome. The palace is famous as the last home of the painter Raphael, who died there in 1520.
Palazzo Alicorni is a reconstructed Renaissance building in Rome, important for historical and architectural reasons. The palace, originally lying only a few meters away from Bernini's Colonnades in St. Peter's square, was demolished in 1931 in the wake of the process of the border definition of the newly established Vatican City state, and rebuilt some hundred meters to the east. According to the stylistic analysis, his designer had been identified as Giovanni Mangone, a Lombard architect active in Rome during the 16th century.
The Palazzo Rusticucci-Accoramboni is a reconstructed late Renaissance palace in Rome. Erected by the will of Cardinal Girolamo Rusticucci, it was designed by Domenico Fontana and Carlo Maderno joining together several buildings already existing. Due to that, the building was not considered a good example of architecture. Originally lying along the north side of the Borgo Nuovo street, after 1667 the building faced the north side of the large new square located west of the new Saint Peter's Square, designed in those years by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The square, named Piazza Rusticucci after the palace, was demolished in 1937–40 because of the erection of the new Via della Conciliazione. In 1940 the palace was dismantled and rebuilt with a different footprint along the north side of the new avenue, constructed between 1936 and 1950, which links St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican City to the center of Rome.
Vincenzo Monaco was an Italian architect who collaborated with Amedeo Luccichenti from 1933 to 1963. During this period, Monaco designed more than 450 projects, of which approximately 100 were built. His work can be seen in buildings in Rome, Pisa, Naples, and Taranto, as well as in Dalmatia, Iran, France, and Tunisia.
Gherardo Bosio was an Italian architect, engineer and urbanist, famed for his work in planning the centre of Tirana, the capital of Albania.
Borgo Vecchio, also named in the Middle Ages Via Sancta, Carriera Sancta or Carriera Martyrum, was a road in the city of Rome, Italy, important for historical and architectural reasons. The road was destroyed together with the adjacent quartier in 1936–37 due to the construction of Via della Conciliazione.
