Another Rome: EUR District

EUR (standing for Esposizione Universale Roma) is a residential and business area of Rome. The initial project was developped for the 1942 World Fair. It was supposed to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of PNF’s March on Rome, but the exhibition never took place due to World War II. The architecture is the execution of Italian fascist ideology, widely inspired by the Roman Imperial Town Planning mixing it with Italian rationalism. The buildings are mainly built of limestone, marble and tuff, characteristic of the Roman Empire. Marcello Piacentini’s project may be categorized as Italian neoclassicism, and definitely elevated him to the rank of the main protagonists of Italian fascist architecture. He was associated to Giuseppe Pagano, leader of the progressive movement and his rival in Italian architecture.
However, the area suffered severe damage during World War II. The important EUR infrastructures were completed later, in the 1950s, just before the 1960 Olympics. The district was then considered to become an out-of-town business centre and was completed by contemporary styles buildings. Some of the notable buildings of the district have since become symbols of Italian fascist architecture. The most iconic remains the 50 meters high Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. 

In 2019, Marietta Varga went to the EUR district, far from the touristy classical Rome. She explored the wide and empty streets to create the series of images Another Rome. She photographed the iconic buildings of Italian fascist era, showing the arcades, the strong lines, the immense scale and the clear shapes. The monumental architecture is magnified when the warm light settled for the last time of the day on the empty buildings.