“Case del Fascio”: Forgotten ‘Fragments’ in Contemporary Rome

Abstract

Over 11,000 local headquarters of the Fascist Party, known as Case del Fascio, were built in Italy and its colonies between 1922 and 1939. The first traditional Italian-style buildings were inspired by eclectic historicism, but as early as the late twenties and up until the mid-thirties, the design of more and more rationalist buildings were influenced by the trend in Europe. Nearly all contemporary designers were involved in the construction of these buildings; young architects and well-known professionals, but also surveyors and engineers working in municipal technical offices. The typological characteristics of the Case del Fascio were established in 1932 by the “Casa del Fascio type” competition and later fine-tuned in 1937 during the II degree competition for the Palazzo del Littorio in Rome. In Rome, as in other big cities, the Palazzo del Littorio was the main party headquarters, but smaller headquarters were also designed and built for the so-called local Groups. Most of the activities performed in the local Case del Fascio involved welfare/healthcare and recreation. These activities were sometimes held in buildings that already existed, but more often than not were designed and built from scratch. This contribution will focus on these local headquarters built in Rome and its suburbs, many of which are abandoned but still stand in contemporary Rome: scattered and neglected “fragments” fading out of people’s memory.

1 Introduction

Numerous buildings, infrastructures, and urban works were designed and built in Italy between 1922 and the start of World War II; many of them are not only still standing in Italian cities, they also characterise the country’s landscapes.

Extensive literary critiques have examined and analysed the most important fascist buildings—big public buildings in foundation cities, sanatoriums, camps, bridges, railways—highlighting their characteristics, specific features, and designer traits [1–4]. Public works were an important part of the building programme implemented during the twenty years of the Fascist regime; they included buildings used for recreational and educational activities, as places where young people were assisted and morally and physically educated, and as local headquarters of the National Fascist Party (NFP). New building types were designed and countless community centres were built in big and medium-sized urban centres and small rural hamlets, forever changing their physiognomy. The names given to these buildings—Casa dell’Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro, Casa dell’Opera Nazionale Balilla, Casa della Gioventù, Casa della Madre e del Bambino, Casa del Fascio—reflected the unique mix of public and private activities held inside the buildings [5].

The Case del Fascio, the headquarters of the NFP, topped the long list of projects and constructions. They recalled the socialist-style Case del Popolo built all over Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth century [6].

Over 11,000 fascist buildings, i.e., the main headquarters and the headquarters of local groups, were constructed in Italy and the colonies between 1922 and 1939; specific types were studied for rural centres and new foundation cities [7].

Nearly all contemporary designers, young architects and engineers, and famous professionals, as well as technical experts working in municipalities, participated in their construction. This multifaceted panorama of buildings included not only works like the well-known and internationally renowned Casa del Fascio in Como, designed by Terragni, but also many other extremely interesting architectures that played a key urban role, and other more modest but no less significant constructions.

Apart from the main headquarters, numerous local branches, the so-called local Groups, were established in major Italian cities. In 1932 there were 28 local Groups in Milan [8, 9]; about the same number were present in Turin [10, 11], while over 30 citizens’ groups existed in Rome and another 29 in the suburbs. Unlike cities in the north, however, critics have not performed any in-depth studies on the local Case del Fascio in Rome. Instead, scholars concentrated only on works that have left an undying mark on the capital.

Mussolini was more interested in Rome. Several of the most famous contemporary architects drew up projects for the city; although some were never built, others made an enormous difference to the city and its skyline. For example, the buildings aligned along the north–south axis from Mussolini’s Forum to the E42 district, from the Imperial Forums to the University city and, last but not least, the new neighbourhoods and working class districts. Perhaps this is one reason why less important buildings were passed over. Another was the very real lack of specific documents. The local NFP headquarters, the so-called local Case del Fascio, are amongst these ‘ignored’ buildings. Instead the history of the Palazzo del Littorio [12, 13], the main party headquarters, is well-known and has been extensively studied; another well-studied project is Terragni’s unimplemented design for the local headquarters of the Portuense-Monteverde Group which was to be built at the Trastevere cargo terminal [12, 14]. On the contrary, little or nothing is known about the other local headquarters, some of which still exist and are recognisable despite having been altered. Finally, compared to a great many other cities and small old or rural towns in the countryside, where countless competitions were held to build the Case del Fascio [13], in Rome none of the incredible number of competitions held during that period focused on the construction of local Case del Fascio [1: 231–318, 15], which were instead entrusted to the free enterprise of local fiduciaries.

After performing an important archival research and study Flavio Mangione produced a very dense and detailed report about national [7] and regional [16] buildings. During his research he concentrated primarily on documents regarding the most innovative, experimental projects; the plans of most of these projects are currently housed in the Central State Archive in Rome. As author of this research, I re-interpreted the archival documentation and studied several unpublished drawings in the Historical Archive of Sapienza University in Rome; I focused on minor works, the “fragments” scattered around the modern city of Rome, the ones which were sometimes radically altered and are now fading from people’s memory.

2 The Casa del Fascio: Advent and Evolution of a Building Type

The NFP was divided into fighting units (sections), grouped into provincial Federations. The Case del Fascio were the headquarters of the fighting units; the activities held in these buildings depended on their location and user base. They included party governance, entertainment, food services, and the physical and cultural education of the population. In smaller centres, it also included welfare, first aid services, and clinics.

Depending on the group’s size and importance, the interior and therefore the functions held inside the Casa del Fascio varied enormously [16]. When no local headquarters were available, rooms could be used by the Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB), from 1937 known as the Gioventù Italiana del Littorio (GIL), the Opera Nazionale Maternità e Infanzia (ONMI), the Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro (OND) or several other associations incorporated by the party.

The most important headquarters hosted not only party offices and the Memorial where the ceremonies to commemorate the dead were held, but also gymnasiums, meeting rooms, cinema-theatre halls, libraries, clinics, kindergartens, maternal care services, etc.

Mangione clarifies that the name Case del Fascio (or Casa del Littorio) was used for all small, medium and big headquarters, while Palazzo del Littorio was the preferred name for the bigger headquarters in important provinces and regional capitals, as well as the main headquarters in Rome.

I should clarify that not all the Case del Fascio were built from scratch; in fact, almost two-thirds were located inside pre-existing buildings; they either took over the whole building or used parts of much bigger buildings.

The design of the first buildings specifically used as headquarters was influenced by Italian traditions and ‘eclectic historicism’. From the late twenties to the mid-thirties, more and more rationalist architectures were built, inspired by the trend in Europe. Examples include the Casa del Fascio in Como and the one in Lissone, both designed by Terragni, and the buildings constructed in foundation cities in the Lazio region: Sabaudia (G. Cancellotti, E. Monutori, L. Piccinato, A. Scalpelli 1934), Guidonia (G. Calza Bini, G. Cancellotti, G. Nicolosi 1938), Aprilia (C. Petrucci, M. Tufaroli Luciano 1936), the local Group in Sturla, Genoa (C. L. Daneri 1939), to name but a few.

In 1932 the competition for the Casa del Fascio ‘type’ was won by the innovators who prevailed over those with a more traditionalist approach. However the latter never gave up and in the last few years of the thirties their design type became popular once again when Italy sided with Germany and entered the war.

Several competitions to build big and small headquarters were launched in the thirties; in 1941 a competition was held to built small and medium-sized headquarters in rural centres and in the outer reaches of the Empire [7: 77–93], all publicised by specialist magazines: (“Architettura”, “Costruzioni-Casabella”, “Edilizia Moderna”, “Rassegna di Architettura”, “L’Architettura Italiana”, etc.). At the end of the decade the main elements of this type were more or less established, based on the experience accrued. The rooms, divided into three functional groups, were used as party offices, the workers’ club, and youth education. Another characteristic element was the Littoria Tower which began to be popular after the competition in 1932; however it continued to be absent in some of the smaller and rural headquarters where all the activities were grouped into one block. In these cases the tower’s symbolic role was replaced by enhancing the main façade, where there was always a balcony (so called arengario). Designers also focused carefully on the site of the headquarters, because the Casa was the strategic centre of the life of the town or city. When the Littoria Tower was physically present it became the focal point of the urban scene, dominating the main square where crowds gathered. This is why designers had to envisage a space big enough to accommodate them [5: 357, 16: 22].

Like many other big Italian cities, the construction of local headquarters in Rome was nevertheless based on an internal logic dictated more by the requirements and choices not only of local groups, but also the designers entrusted with the project. In fact, since there were no national directives, they were sometimes replaced by observations and requests for alterations and improvements in the individual projects presented by local sections to the central headquarters, which had the final say. The site was often chosen after a plot of land was donated by a private individual or because there were empty or abandoned areas owned by the Governorate. The size, internal layout, and building materials depended on the group’s finances. In some cases the style was simple and modern, in others it was inspired more by tradition; this depended on the group’s political leaders who either chose designers they trusted or, vice versa, designers with innovative ideas.

3 The Headquarters of the Local Groups in Rome and in the Suburb

In 1942 the Roman Federation could count on 148 Case del Fascio in the Provinces and the Suburb, and 32 local Groups in the urban centre of Rome [1] This contribution focuses on several of the most important headquarters of the local groups in the city and suburbs (Fig. 1). It does not therefore include the Case del Fascio in the Province of Rome which are, however, undoubtedly interesting, for example the ones in Jenne (1937) and Rocca di Cave (1938) [16].

Fig. 1

(established by the author based on the IGM map dated 1949)

Plan of Rome indicating the 32 headquarters of the local Groups in Rome in 1942 and the Case del Fascio in the suburbs cited in the contribution

Starting in 1924 the leaders of the Roman Federation were very carefully as to how they organised the party in each district. The sections and sub-sections of the party were turned into local groups; in 1924 there were already 25 active Groups (in the city and suburbs). Each group, dedicated to a fascist martyr, covered an area corresponding more or less to each district and quarter in Rome. The number changed over the years due to new inaugurations, but also to several mergers: in 1942 there were 32 Groups in the city and 29 in the suburbs, with different sub-sections [17, 18].

3.1 The Local Groups in Rome

Most of headquarters of the city Groups were in buildings that already existed, i.e., residential buildings, but also schools and private and public buildings (most of which were owned by the Governorate); in some cases the activities were held in different venues due to lack of space. The buildings were nearly always either loaned free of charge or leased, at agreed rents, by the owners.

Only three headquarters in the city were probably built from scratch, two of which belonged to the Federation: the “Giovanni Luporini” Casa del Fascio in the Gianicolense district, and the “Ugo Pepe” Casa del Fascio in Tor di Quinto. The third building, specifically constructed as a headquarters, could have been, as we will see, a sub-section of the “Luigi Platania” group in the Portuense-Monteverde district, but there is almost no information about this. The “Rino Daus” Madonna del Riposo headquarters was in via Aurelia. The same Group promoted the creation of two new headquarters for the sub-sections located in the Suburb, in the so-called borgate: one in the borgata Primavalle and another one in the borgata Fogaccia. The Casa del Fascio in Primavalle—inaugurated on 3 November 1938 and demolished after the war—was built by the Governorate [19, 20: 297–298]. The Casa del Fascio in borgata Fogaccia will be described in Sect. 3.2.

Several archival documents report that other projects remained on paper for various reasons, including the fact Italy entered the war; they include the new “Franco Baldini” headquarters of the Tiburtino Group [see below], the “Pierino del Piano” Appio headquarters [7: 388], the “Manlio Cavagnaro” Latino Metronio Group [7: 386], and the “Fulcieri Paolucci di Calboli” headquarters in Monte Mario where construction began, but was never completed [7: 387, 21].

Due to lack of space, I shall not examine the headquarters located in pre-existing buildings, but I should point out that when new headquarters could not be built—either because there was no available land or due to insufficient financial resources—the more active Groups submitted a proposal to the provincial federation to purchase bigger and better headquarters. For example the “Angelo Scambelluri” Prati Group which in 1941 wished to purchase a small abandoned building between Viale Giulio Cesare and Lungotevere Michelangelo [22], or the Salario Group which, that same year, proposed the purchase of a small building in Via Aniene 8 [20: 165–166, 23]. During that period other groups planned to enlarge and modernise their headquarters; one interesting example is the “Edoardo Meazzi” Savoia Group; their headquarters was on the ground floor of a building in Piazza Verbano 2–7 but they also occupied several adjacent rooms. In 1939 they designed and built an enlargement—in the inner courtyard of the lot—which was used as the headquarters of the fascist youth group. The enlargement still stands, even if it has been radically altered and is almost unrecognisable [20: 154, 24].

In 1941 the “Enrico Maggi” Monte Sacro Group, located in the new Aniene Garden City in Via Gargano (designed by Gustavo Giovannoni et al., between 1920 and 1928) proposed to add an additional floor to their headquarters [25]. Interestingly enough, the project originally envisaged that a trattoria was to occupy the ground floor rooms next to the firehouse on the left [26]; however, later on the rooms were in fact used as the Casa del Fascio. The plans of the project, attributed to Ignazio Sabbatini [27], are currently housed in the Archive of the History of Architecture Study Centre. The one floor trattoria had three simple arches and two small balconies overlooking the terrace surrounded by a pergola (Fig. 2). The project presented in 1941 included the addition of another floor to replace the terrace; it was to be used as offices for the secretariat and accountants, but was also to have a big meeting room and an office for the fiduciary; the two pre-existing balconies were to be turned into a sort of double balcony (Fig. 3). The anonymous designer grafted a vaguely rationalist stereometric volume onto the pre-existing style seeped in regionalism (the porticoes and botteghe with upper galleries are obvious references to a Roman insula). The addition was never built and a restaurant is once again located in the building.

Fig. 2

(courtesy of Centro di Studi per la Storia dell’Architettura Archive in Rome: see Ref. [27]; authorization granted 2020/11/03; reproduction prohibited)

The Aniene Garden City, building no. 1 on the corner of Corso Sempione and Via Gargano, elevation along Via Gargano, attributed to Ignazio Sabbatini, 1920–1921

Fig. 3

(Central State Archive in Rome: see Ref. [25]. Courtesy of Ministero per i Beni e le Attività culturali e per il Turismo, authorization n° 1629/2021; reproduction prohibited)

The local Monte Sacro Group. Project to add a top-storey to the Casa del Fascio in Via Gargano, 1941

Although there is very little information available about the buildings constructed ex novo, it is still possible to provide some indications which may be useful in future studies.

The Case del Fascio of the Gianicolense and Portuense-Monteverde Groups. Events surrounding the construction of the Case del Fascio in the Monteverde district are rather complex and difficult to piece together.

The headquarters of the local Gianicolense Group named after Giovanni Luporini were located in a building in Via Poerio 36. Inaugurated in 1928, the building had one floor with 11 rooms. In 1936 a project was launched to gather funds to build an enlargement, including an additional floor. In 1937 a project was drafted by engineer Luigi Zamperini [28]. However, in 1938 cracks began to appear on the walls, either due to structural defects or because of a subsidence of the soil; consolidation was performed in 1939, although it appears to have been executed superficially and did not solve the problem. In 1941 the need for an additional floor was reiterated, but it wasn’t until February 1942 that the technical-artistic Council approved the restoration and enlargement project, albeit asking for variations to its design. The project by Gaspare Calcara included the additional floor and, at the rear of the building in an area previously used as an open-air gymnasium, a cinema-theatre that could also be used as an assembly room [28].

The main part of the construction is a rather massive parallelepiped; the first floor is clad in “Tor di Quinto” brick [28] while the upper floor has coupled travertine marble pilasters. The lower building to the left has only one floor, but the cladding is similar to that of the main part of the construction (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4

(Central State Archive in Rome: see Ref. [28]. Courtesy of Ministero per i Beni e le Attività culturali e per il Turismo, authorization n° 1629/2021; reproduction prohibited)

The “Giovanni Luporini” local Group headquarters in the Gianicolense district. Project for the restoration and enlargement of the Casa del Fascio in Via Poerio 36. Architect Gaspare Calcara, 1941

It is unclear whether, and to what extent, this project was implemented, because in 1938 new headquarters had already been inaugurated in the council housing complex in Piazza Donna Olimpia [29: 10–121].

The building still stands and is perfectly recognisable; it would appear that the additional floor was in fact built, maybe later, but with a simpler design; however, the plaster cladding of the pre-existing building was preserved (Fig. 5). The coupled windows on the ground floor are surrounded by an arched frame, also present on the sides; this addition is also visible in the pencil sketch added to one of the project drawings in the Central State Archive [28].

Fig. 5

(photo by the author, 2020)

The “Giovanni Luporini” local Group headquarters in the Gianicolense district. The Istituto Piccolo Cottolengo Don Orione is now located in the former Group headquarters in Via Poerio

Since the history of Terragni’s project for a Casa del Fascio near the goods terminal in Trastevere, designed for the Portuense-Monteverde Group, is well-known and has been repeatedly analysed by critics, I shall not focus on it here. The project remained incomplete because negotiations to purchase the land fell through [29: 122, 30] and the headquarters of this Group remained in several buildings along Viale Gianicolense.

Although most unusual, another building has been attributed to the local Group named after Luigi Platania; however, no documentation has so far been found confirming this provision [16: 87]. The only piece of evidence that could corroborate this theory is a document dated 9 January 1939 specifying that Sectors XI and XIII of the Group were relocated to the Parrocchietta (a place very close to this building) and that a plot of land gifted by a comrade had already been set aside for this headquarters [31]. Unfortunately, nothing indicates that the gifted land is actually the plot where the building now stands, and even the fact that it was designed by Terragni [32] remains uncorroborated.

The small building in Via Portuense 549 is located next to the nineteenth-century Forte Portuense. It is above all its typological characteristics that give some indication of the way in which this local Casa del Fascio was initially used. The entrance block, presumably with the offices, was inserted in the fake travertine fascist tower with an interesting curvilinear balcony (so called arengario). The building extends lengthwise towards the rear of the lot; the two-floor rectangular building was probably used for meetings and watching films. The stereometric forms of the building, its compact fake travertine tower, the semi-elliptical balcony on the façade, and the fact it was unadorned, prove that it belongs to the group of rationalist architectures (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6

(photo by the author, 2020; survey by Giulia Laglia, 2018)

The supposed Casa del Fascio in Via Portuense 549. Photo of its current state and survey of its main elevation

Although the Casa del Fascio in Via Portuense is simple in design and was built economically due to the limited funds available to local headquarters, it currently represents one of the fragments of the architectural works built in Rome between the twenties and thirties, the memory of which is currently fading [1]. The building has not only been hidden and engulfed by buildings constructed in the seventies, it has been left to deteriorate, omitted from the “Charter for Quality” (2008) [33], and remains unknown to most of the local inhabitants; despite all this it still deserves greater attention by the citizens of Rome and all those responsible for ensuring its preservation.

The Casa del Fascio of the Tor di Quinto local Group. The Casa del Fascio in Tor di Quinto, named after Ugo Pepe, is located in Ponte Milvio behind the church dedicated to the Great Mother of God designed by Cesare Bazzani (1931–1933). Of all the Case del Fascio built in Rome during the twenty-year fascist period, it is the most famous and probably the one that still retains its original features, despite later alterations and enlargements.

The plans signed by architects Fausto Tizi and Luigi Rosa are housed in the Central State Archive [34].

The building with its L-shaped layout stands on a plot of land donated by the Governorate of Rome; its distinguishing feature is the fair face brick Littoria Tower in one corner, “20 m high and adorned with a magnificent travertine balcony” [35] crowned by a royal eagle. Contemporary sources report that it was built in just 185 days in 1937, and inaugurated on 23 January 1938. At that time it was difficult to find iron, so the structure was built with load-bearing masonry: only the corner pilasters of the tower were built in reinforced concrete, as were the floors “envisaged to be built using mixed reinforced concrete and pignatte (parallelepiped bricks)” [34]. The window frames were also made of wood for the same reason.

Tizi himself describes the project. The L-shaped plan was designed to leave the open space of the square in front of the building free for assemblies, while a sports ground was envisaged at the rear of the building. In the intentions of the designer of the Littoria Tower, the leaders could use the balcony to speak to the people assembled in the square below; it was to be a very powerful feature, visible even from Mussolini’s Forum (Fig. 7).

Fig. 7

(Central State Archive in Rome: see Ref. [34]. Courtesy of Ministero per i Beni e le Attività culturali e per il Turismo, authorization n° 1629/2021; reproduction prohibited)

The “Ugo Pepe” headquarters of the local Tor di Quinto Group. Drawing of the right side elevation. Architects Fausto Tizi and Luigi Rosa, 1937–1938

The organically and functionally-arranged rooms are divided according to the activities they were to host. The air raid shelter, workers’ club and service storerooms were located in the basement. The ground floor—roughly 1 m above street level—was reserved for ceremonies; the Memorial and the double height assembly room occupied the building to the right, while the one to the left was reserved for the fascist youth, a gymnasium and small clinic [16: 80]. The upper floor could be reached using a staircase lit by a concrete glass wall with openings. The offices and rooms for the female youth movement were located in this part of the building, while the fiduciary’s office was located inside the tower. The interesting plan of the entrance, acting as a link between the two buildings, was designed as a covered, pass-through loggia that led to the Memorial, the assembly hall, and the sports ground in the open space at the rear.

As mentioned earlier, despite widespread deterioration of the surfaces and several inevitable alterations to remodel the space so that it could be used as the Ponte Milvio police station, the exterior side of the building facing the square still maintains the original, extremely military-style features also found on foundation cities (Fig. 8).

Fig. 8

(photo by the author, 2020)

The Casa del Fascio of the local Tor di Quinto Group, currently the Ponte Milvio police station. View of the elevation with the entrance

The assembly hall, dedicated to Arnaldo Mussolini and visible in a vintage photo [36] has been eliminated, but the staircase with its transparent wall is still intact [7: 392, 16: 38]. The buildings added behind the headquarters in the sixties now conceal its rear elevations, further altered by the addition of several technical installations.

The project for the Casa del Fascio in the Tiburtino district. Unlike the previous buildings, the new Casa del Fascio in the Tiburtino district was never built. Between 1929 and 1942 the Group’s main headquarters remained in Via dei Volsci 86, in several rooms on the ground floor of the “Aurelio Saffi” elementary school, accessed from a blind alley at the rear of the building. In 1929 the entrance along the street was photographed by the Istituto Luce and is still recognisable, even today.

The site where the headquarters were to be built was probably chosen around 1938: it was the final part of the lot between Via del Castro Laurenziano and Viale della Regina, towards Via Tiburtina and Piazzale del Verano, next to the new seat of the Public Health Institute (since 1941 the National Institute of Health) inaugurated in 1934.

The unpublished drawings housed in the Historical Archive of the “Sapienza” University of Rome, are dated December 1939 [37], i.e., prior to the ones in the Central State Archive which Mangione dated 1941 [6: 389; 16: 82, 38].

The two anonymous design solutions (1939 and 1941) were undoubtedly influenced by changes in the political situation. In fact, the second project is smaller and has less overall volume; there is no Littoria Tower which instead is the main feature in the earlier version. This version, drawn with a pencil and charcoal on glossy paper (scale, 1:100), shows a complex L-shaped plan, with the Littoria Tower in one corner; the latter acted not only as a hub for the whole composition, but also as the entrance hall. Compared to the Casa del Fascio in Tor di Quinto, the style is aulic, spectacular, and based on tradition (Figs. 9, 10). The use of fair face brick on all the surfaces further enhances the impression it conveys of power and prestige.

Fig. 9

(courtesy of Historical Archive sector—“Sapienza” University of Rome: see Ref. [37]; authorization n° 0076903_2020/10/28; reproduction prohibited)

The “Franco Baldini” headquarters of the local Group in the Tiburtino district. Anonymous project for the new headquarters in Viale della Regina, 1939. Elevation showing the entrance; pencil and charcoal on glossy paper

Fig. 10

(courtesy of Historical Archive sector—“Sapienza” University of Rome: see Ref. [37]; authorization n° 0076903_2020/10/28; reproduction prohibited)

The “Franco Baldini” headquarters of the local Group in the Tiburtino district. Anonymous project for the new headquarters in Viale della Regina, 1939. Section of the building along Viale della Regina and view of the garden; pencil on glossy paper, scale 1:100

The internal layout is again based on a functional approach and the envisaged activities. The two buildings separate the female fascist youth group from the male fascist youth group; each have separate entrances. The Memorial is located in the centre of the building near the entrance. The air raid shelter and technical rooms are in the basement, as is the nursery school, located underneath the rooms occupied by the female fascist youth group.

Since it was impossible to build the new Casa del Fascio, in February 1943 another project was submitted; this time it was a project to enlarge and renovate the headquarters in Via dei Volsci. Apart from a new internal layout, the project envisaged the construction of a new entrance to the right of the Schools, in the middle of the elevation along Via dei Sabelli. The project was presented just a few months before the bombing of San Lorenzo (15 July 1943) and, for obvious reasons, never implemented.

3.2 The Local Groups in the Suburb

For the reasons cited above, very few new buildings were constructed in the city; instead numerous Case del Fascio were built in the new districts and suburbs, many of which still exist, even if they have been radically altered, so much so that some are often unrecognisable.

The projects and buildings can be divided into two main groups: those which, although small, have a typical rationalist-style layout with a Littoria Tower and separate, differently designed buildings for each function, and the ones that instead group all the functions in a single building that has one, or at most two floors and, often, rural architectural traits. Examples (that no longer exist) of these two groups are: for first group, the “Giorgio Moriani” Casa del Fascio in Capannelle (built in 1938, but probably demolished), divided in two compact L-shaped volumes, differing in height and undecorated, but with big windows [7: 391, 39, 40]; for the second group, the “Giuseppe Utili” Casa del Fascio in Ardea (also built in 1938 and demolished in the sixties) that instead had all the typical features of rural architecture: a single building and a Littoria Tower projecting slightly from the façade [7: 382].

The surviving buildings that are worthy of note deserve to be studied more in-depth, e.g., the ones built in the Cassio district, in the borgata Fogaccia, and in Settecamini, and La Storta-Isola Farnese suburbs.

The Casa del Fascio of the Cassio Group. Together with the Casa del Fascio in Tor di Quinto, the headquarters of the local Cassio Group, named after Luigi Docci and later, in 1939 after Federico Valle, is perhaps the most famous and well preserved. It stands in Via Cassia 734 and is currently used as a middle school named after Eduardo De Filippo [41].

This building was also constructed on land owned by the Governorate that later donated it to the fascist Federation and financed by resources gifted by the local population (donations and free labour) [42]. Construction on the headquarters began in late 1937; it was inaugurated on 26 October 1938 [43], even if it was still unfinished (work ended in 1940). The building was designed by the architect Romeo di Castro who as far back as 1937 had envisaged three building phases [44].

The construction was divided into three main buildings, all the same height, with a Littoria Tower along the façade; the latter acted as the hub of the design, its distinguishing feature, and as a landmark in the urban scene (Fig. 11).

Fig. 11

(Central State Archive in Rome: see Ref. [42]. Courtesy of Ministero per i Beni e le Attività culturali e per il Turismo, authorization n° 1629/2021; reproduction prohibited)

The Casa del Fascio of the local Cassio Group. View of the main façade along Via Cassia. Architect Romeo Di Castro, 1937

The building to the left was used by the fascist youth and the fascist women’s movement; the workers’ club and political offices were also located in this building. The double height cinema-auditorium and a basement gymnasium were located on the right side of the building. These activities are partially visible from the exterior due to the different cladding of the façades along the main street: fair face brick for the tower and cinema, and plaster for the office wing.

The Littoria Tower with its corner window is quite interesting; it also has a bas-relief with agricultural scenes probably a reference to the activities which were still common in that suburban area (Fig. 12).

Fig. 12

(photo by the author, 2020)

The Casa del Fascio of the local Cassio Group. The bas-relief with scenes of agricultural life is still present on the Littoria Tower

Although it is impossible to comment further on the characteristics of this building, it is important to specify that despite the undeniable alterations made to adapt it to its new functions, and the lack of care taken when installing the albeit necessary technical and security systems, the building still has many of its original features, at least on its exterior (Fig. 13).

Fig. 13

(photo by the author, 2020)

The Casa del Fascio of the local Cassio Group. Now the “Eduardo De Filippo” public middle school

The “Alessandro Parisi” Casa del Fascio in the Tiburtino III district is one of the headquarters composed of several buildings and a Littoria Tower; the buildings were designed in a rather simple, stark style, with stereometric forms and no decorative details. Inaugurated on 21 April 1939 together with the adjacent school complex, it is currently used as the Santa Maria del Soccorso police station [45]. Although no major changes have been made to the building (which did however undergo some alterations), the radical changes implemented in this urban area have made it unrecognisable, so much so that very few people are aware it exists or what it was originally used for (Fig. 14).

Fig. 14

A vintage photograph of the “Alessandro Parisi” Casa del Fascio in the Tiburtino III district (see Ref. [45: 180])

The Case del Fascio in the borgata Fogaccia and in Settecamini. The Casa del Fascio in the borgata Fogaccia was a sub-section of Madonna del Riposo local Group (see Sect. 3.1 above). The Casa del Fascio is still well preserved, at least externally; very few alterations have been made except for the extra floor added to the rear side of the building. It is currently used as the Monte Spaccato police station.

The three designs drafted for this building are housed in the Central State Archive [46, 47], including the one designed by the engineer Paolo Napoli and actually implemented. The building was inaugurated on 21 April 1939 [7: 383, 16: 76, 20: 298]. It was built by Count Piero Fogaccia who during that period built the whole borgata and who, in 1942, donated it to the fascist Federation together with the land on which it stood [20: 298, 48].

The building now stands in Piazza Re Ina; compared to the design by Napoli (Fig. 15) who envisaged a stone slab cladding for the central building, it was built with a plaster cladding, visible in several vintage photographs.

Fig. 15

(Central State Archive in Rome: see Ref. [47]. Courtesy of Ministero per i Beni e le Attività culturali e per il Turismo, authorization n° 1629/2021; reproduction prohibited)

The Casa del Fascio of the borgata Fogaccia. View of the main façade. Engineer Paolo Napoli, 1938–1939

Given the size of the building compared to the population of the suburb and its internal functions, the designer decided to design a single symmetrical building where the central part of the main façade jutted out from the side wings. Although there is no Littoria Tower the entire front of the building is higher compared to the rear where there is a one floor meeting room. The distinguishing feature of the balcony (the so called arengario) with its curvilinear shape softens the stereometry of the design. The project envisaged a parapet decorated with a bas-relief, with the golden eagle in the center, which was, however, never built (Fig. 16).

Fig. 16

(photo by the author, 2020)

The Casa del Fascio of the borgata Fogaccia, in Piazza Re Ina. It is currently used as the Monte Spaccato police station

A similar type, but in a completely different style, was chosen for the Casa del Fascio in Settecamini, named after Giorgio Timi and located in a rural area on the outskirts of the city along Via Tiburtina.

This building, designed by engineer Giuseppe Breccia, is probably one of the first to be built; in fact it was inaugurated in 1931 [49].

Its traditional architecture fits pleasantly in with its rural surroundings. The structure is made up of tuff and brick load-bearing walls, concrete floors, and iron window frames. The travertine window sills and entrance steps are set against the plastered outer walls [50]. The offices and recreational activity rooms are on the ground floor of the main, two-floor building, while two apartments are located on the first floor; a 1000-seat auditorium occupies the central part of the building (Fig. 17).

Fig. 17

(Central State Archive in Rome: see Ref. [50]. Courtesy of Ministero per i Beni e le Attività culturali e per il Turismo, authorization n° 1629/2021; reproduction prohibited)

Vintage photograph of the Casa del Fascio in Settecamini, 1931

All the fascist symbols were removed after the war (the same thing also happened elsewhere). The fasces on the pairs of half-columns inserted on the outer wall of the ground floor of the building were removed, as were the busts of Mussolini and Vittorio Emanuele III on the first floor (Fig. 18).

Fig. 18

(photo by the author, 2020)

The Casa del Fascio in Settecamini. Current state

Work was recently performed to secure the building. Although it is still public property it continues to lie abandoned and in an extremely dilapidated state. It should instead be restored and made available to the community.

The Casa del Fascio of the La Storta-Isola Farnese Group. Finally, a few words about the Casa del Fascio in La Storta and Isola Farnese with its rather special features compared to all the other buildings [51, 52].

As in borgata Fogaccia, the building was financed by Marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta and donated, along with the land, to the Roman Federation in 1941.

The anonymous designer opted for an unusual solution: the buildings are positioned symmetrically around the tall, stone clad Littoria Tower [51]. The characteristic feature of the project are the sloping roofs, bestowing a familiar but varied appearance on the buildings, as if it were a small hamlet. The use of different colours also helps to create this impression (Fig. 19).

Fig. 19

(Central State Archive in Rome: see Ref. [51]. Courtesy of Ministero per i Beni e le Attività culturali e per il Turismo, authorization n° 1629/2021; reproduction prohibited)

The Casa del Fascio of the La Storta and Isola Farnese Group. Design view. Anonymous, c. 1939

Like many other Case del Fascio, this building has survived and is now the La Storta police station. Although its layout is still clearly visible, many additions (e.g., the one next to the Littoria Tower) as well as the boundary wall around the military zone have irreversibly altered the original design and perception of this building (Fig. 20).

Fig. 20

(photo by the author, 2020)

The Casa del Fascio in La Storta and Isola Farnese. Currently the police station in La Storta

4 What Destiny Awaits These Forgotten Fragments in the Contemporary City?

This question is rather provocative. In fact before talking about destiny we should talk about memory and acknowledgement of values, without which destiny is impossible.

On the other hand, it’s obvious that in a city like Rome, with so many important artistic, architectural, and historical assets, many of these “minor” works, scattered around and engulfed by the contemporary city, are perhaps destined to disappear. In some cases they have already ‘disappeared’; some have been demolished, others only cancelled from our memory, nonchalantly altered to adapt them to our modern needs.

During my research I discovered several paradoxical examples compared to which a straightforward demolition to make way for an architecture worthy of this name would have been infinitely more preferable compared to the decision to “adapt” the past to the needs of the present. I refer in particular to the ridiculous almost surreal camouflaging of the “Primo Martini” Casa del Fascio in Torre Spaccata, between Via dell’Aquila reale and Via dell’Airone, as a small residential building [6: 386, 16: 79]. Another irreversible alteration involves the “Dario Pini” Casa del Fascio in Marcigliana (the current police station in Settebagni along Via Salaria), which is now completely unrecognisable, except for the steps on one side of the building [16: 77].

Although the works cited here are architecturally modest, some of them bear witness to a past which is perhaps still too recent to be thoroughly understood, but which, for this very reason, we should try and preserve.

Clearly we cannot intervene on all our past architectures the way we did, for example, for Terragni’s masterpieces in Como and Lissone [53]. I believe we have to choose; we have to take inevitable and perhaps painful decisions, at least to some of us, but nevertheless based on the acknowledgement of the values inspired by a profound understanding of these works and their context. This is the approach I hope I have conveyed in this contribution.