Esposizione Universale Roma
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The Esposizione Universale Roma (E.U.R.) is a large complex, built in 1935 by Benito Mussolini as symbol of fascism for the world; he wanted to expand the new Rome in the west, to connect it to the sea. The E.U.R. was originally conceived for the 1942 world exhibition, and was called "E.42" ("Esposizione 42"). However the world exhibition would never take place since Italy entered the war in 1940.
The E.U.R. provides a good image of how urban Italy would have looked if the fascist regime would not have fallen; large, symmetrical streets and cold buildings of either stile Littorio, inspired by Roman architecture, or Rationalism, built in the traditional limestone, tuff and marble.
The most representative building of the Fascist style is the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana (1938-1943), which was built as a cubic Colosseum.
After the war, the Roman authorities found that they already had a germ of an off-centre business district that other capitals were still planning (London Docklands and La Defense in Paris).
During the 1950s and 1960s, old buildings were completed, and other new buildings were constructed in the same style - housing offices, ministries, large gardens and grand parks.
It holds the Museum of Roman Civilization and a Sports Palace used in the Olympic Games of 1960.
It was also portrayed as the headquarters of Mayflower Industries in the 1991 movie Hudson Hawk.
External links
Travel guides
- from Wikitravel
- [Exploring Eur - Cultural Itineraries], PDF brochure (713 KB) by the Tourist Office of Rome.
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