Mussolini's obelisk transportation. Creation of Rome. How Mussolini rebuilt the eternal city. The role of Latin in the world Nazi movement

22.06.2017, 12:00

If Benito Mussolini did not fight, he was engaged in the reconstruction of Rome. However, if he fought, he also worked, but on a smaller scale. Only a truly big war, such as World War II, could distract him from his favorite pastime. “Without false modesty, I consider myself the spiritual father of the master plan for the reconstruction of Rome,” said the Duce.

ALEXANDER BELENKY

Altar of dentures

Just as Dostoevsky’s Petersburg was actually first described by Pushkin in The Bronze Horseman, so Mussolini’s Rome began to be built when Benito was still a child. It could not be otherwise, because in this area, as in all others, the Duce did not start anything. He gave a new quality to a process that began long before him.

Of course, it is no coincidence that the most brutally aggressive nationalist regimes in Europe in the 20th century arose in Italy and Germany - countries that shortly before almost simultaneously experienced “late unification”. Tired of being European provinces that other powers were forever seizing and dividing, both countries, albeit with varying degrees of intensity, rushed to build empires. At the first stage in urban planning and architecture, this resulted in the fact that local craftsmen began to complete the construction of grandiose cathedrals and erect new, extremely pompous structures.

In Germany, this was generally not very successful, but the Italian artistic genius allowed the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence and the Milan Cathedral to be completed quite adequately. Rome was less fortunate. There was no need to complete the construction of large churches here, but it was necessary to erect a grandiose monument in honor of the unification of the country and the ruler under whom it took place.

This is how the monument to Victor Emmanuel II appeared, which the Italians officially call Il Vittoriano or Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland), but much more often - a typewriter and a false jaw.

In general, this was an extremely vulgar interpretation of the ancient heritage, as it was understood in the second half of the 19th century. During the design and construction of this “false jaw,” much of what later happened on a much larger scale under Mussolini happened.

It all started with confusion. A competition was announced for the design of the monument, which was won by the French architect Henri-Paul Nenot. The Italians did not feel any hostility towards the French, but they also could not entrust the construction of a national monument to a foreigner. Then another competition was announced, this time only for our own people. Giuseppe Sacconi won. In 1885, he began construction of this outlandish structure, which completely distorted the appearance of a large part of the city, especially Capitol Hill.

At the same time, other trends emerged, which later flourished under Mussolini. On the site of the current monument there was a very picturesque people's quarter. There were many old houses here, the owners of which were clearly explained that they were not the owners of anything, and their property was simply taken away from them.

It seems that they paid some kind of compensation, but, knowing the enchanting Italian bureaucracy and bureaucratic laziness, it is easy to guess that people did not receive their money soon and not without problems. At the same time, much more interesting architectural structures than the monument erected in their place were destroyed.

In these places, you just have to dig and you’ll come across some kind of antiquity. Among other things, for example, a Roman insula (multi-storey building) from the 2nd century was found here new era. They “dug up” and restored it for a very long time, and it took on its current form relatively recently.

Duce in the city

The desire to rebuild Rome on the model of Ottoman Paris in late XIX Many people in Italy had a century, but, fortunately, there was no money for this. In addition, Italians still have an innate reverence for their antiquities.

And, when these days they talk about the need to lay the third metro line through the living, despite all these temples and buildings that are always discovered underground (and in Rome the metro construction is combined with the archeology department, which greatly slows down its work), don't take it seriously. This is how Italian steam is released. No one, or almost no one, actually means anything like that.

Unlike most Italians, Mussolini, when he came to power in 1922, meant a lot of what he said, including about Roman urban planning. Since the 30s, it has been customary for us to look at the Italian dictator through the eyes of Kukryniksov: how funny, how ridiculous, how much pathos, what hilarious faces he made. Meanwhile, Mussolini was simply a man of that era, the Italian ruler of his time, who met all the requirements, otherwise he would not have lasted in power for more than twenty years.

The Italians, who were proud of themselves, then wanted to see just such pathetic faces, which exactly corresponded to their own moods. It is no coincidence that there was no serious resistance to the Duce’s power until almost the end of his reign.

When Roman guides talk about the reconstruction of the city carried out by Mussolini, they usually sarcastically note that the Duce cut wide avenues through the medieval quarters out of love for parades, which he simply could not live without. Meanwhile, parades, which were incredibly popular among the people at that time, were not the first thing that concerned Mussolini himself. He was an intelligent and far-sighted politician and in this case pursued many goals.

The first was purely ideological.

Mussolini himself felt not so much as an Italian, but as a descendant of the ancient Romans, and he also wanted to see Rome close to the ancient original.

Medieval Rome and even Renaissance and Baroque Rome with its narrow winding streets were completely alien to him. The clearly planned Ancient Rome, in which there were many straight and wide streets, was more consistent with his tastes and, by the way, with the tastes of most of his contemporaries, which they themselves and their descendants later easily renounced.

Mussolini wanted to forget the Italy of the recent and distant past, although it dictated the artistic tastes of the whole world, but at the same time was torn apart by invaders. Ancient Rome, which dictated its will to everyone and everything, is a completely different matter. It is now somehow forgotten that one of the many titles that Mussolini assigned to himself was the title of “founder of the empire.”

After reconstruction, during which medieval buildings were demolished, the Theater of Marcellus became much more visible

Rome, as Mussolini received it, was picturesque and magnificent. The last two thousand of the almost two thousand seven hundred years of its official history lay before everyone with eyes in full view, but it in no way looked like the capital of the empire, and Mussolini wanted to see it that way. To do this, among other things, it was necessary to build wide streets and clear the space around large ancient monuments.

At the same time, Mussolini additionally solved two problems at once.

Firstly, he wanted to destroy the poor people's neighborhoods in the center, for example around the Theater of Marcellus. Many ancient Italian cities were characterized by chaotic “spotty” buildings. People of average and below-average income often lived in the very center, including near the famous ruins of antiquity. The rich neighborhoods were located a little further away, where it was easier to establish infrastructure appropriate to the status of the residents.

Secondly, Mussolini generally wanted to cleanse Rome of the proletariat. We should not forget that he was the son of a socialist and started out as a socialist himself, but came to power in many ways precisely because those with power and money were afraid of socialism. And he perceived the threat posed by the working class as quite real.

The workers were evicted to a kind of sleeping areas, where they were gathered together and it was much easier to keep track of them. The fact that there was no particular need to monitor, since Mussolini enjoyed widespread support among the people, did not reassure him, like any dictator. Perhaps, knowing his people well, he understood how shallow this love was and how quickly it would end if something went wrong.

Masterpieces on masterpieces

Mussolini announced his plans for Rome loudly and almost immediately, as soon as he established himself in the place of the new dictator. On April 21, 1924, the day of the founding of Rome, he gave a keynote speech on Capitol Hill, in which he said, in part:

“I want to divide the problems of 20th century Rome into two categories: problems of necessity and problems of greatness. Without solving the former, it is impossible to approach the solution of the latter. The problems of necessity stem from the development of Rome and consist of two interconnected parts - buildings and communications. The problems of greatness are of a completely different kind.

It is necessary to get rid of everything mediocre and ugly in old Rome, and if this is necessary, then a monumental Rome of the 20th century must be erected next to ancient and medieval Rome.

Rome must become not just a modern city in the most trivial sense of the word, it must be a city worthy of its glory, and this glory must be constantly renewed in order to pass it on to subsequent generations as a legacy of the era of fascism.

One of Mussolini's first projects was the square now known as Largo Argentina. By the way, the name has no more to do with Argentina than with Honduras. It’s just that in the 15th century the Bishop of Strasbourg erected his tower here, from which nothing remained except the name, and the Latin name of his diocese is Argentoratum.

By the 20s of the last century, this was a common place for Rome, colorful and picturesquely built. Now they decided to build it up with new houses, although among other things there was the far from ugly church of the second half of the 16th century of San Nicola dei Cesarini. This did not stop the new Italian architects.

But do not rush to call them barbarians. Renaissance architects also easily demolished everything to make way for their buildings. So Mussolini in this aspect only continued a long-existing tradition.

However, when the church was demolished, the remains of an ancient temple were discovered underneath it. And here, no matter how much language breaks from this, we have to give Mussolini his due: the construction plans were immediately curtailed, and instead serious excavations began, as a result of which the square acquired its current appearance.

Now the ruins of four ancient temples stand well below street level. According to tradition, they date back to the times of Republican Rome, and they will even show you the place where Julius Caesar was killed and where he either said or did not say: “And you, Brutus?”

Serious guides hide their eyes at the same time. The time of construction of these temples has not yet been established with absolute accuracy. Science, as often happens, does not know what guides know, especially the most incompetent of them. Caesar, of course, was killed, but whether this is the case is a big question.

But what is absolutely certain is that these temples are older than those in the forum, and that this place itself, a kind of ancient island in the middle of the city, with which it somehow strangely harmonizes and interacts, is absolutely magnificent and truly breathes antiquity .

We also have to admit that without Mussolini we would hardly have seen him. It’s just that no one would have the determination to take responsibility for the destruction of historical buildings for the sake of excavating other historical buildings, and in a city where some architectural masterpieces stand on top of others, this is an ever-present problem, and to decide which masterpiece is more valuable: the one that stands from above, or the one buried under it, it can be difficult.

Antiquity and rationalism

Mussolini built a rigid hierarchical table of ranks of different historical eras of the Apennine Peninsula. In the first place there was Rome from the time of Octavian Augustus, which, in the Duce’s own words, he wanted to restore. Therefore, he strictly transformed Rome in accordance with his historical taste, while solving, as was said, purely practical problems.

He thinned out the buildings around the Theater of Marcellus and made it easier to access the Forum Boarium, which contains two perfectly preserved Roman temples from the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. When you look at them, you simply cannot comprehend that at the time of the baptism of Rus' they had stood for more than a thousand years.

Mussolini's plan consisted of two parts: necessity and greatness. Thanks to the second, ancient forums have found new life

However, having destroyed a lot, Mussolini also built something, and these new buildings in the wretched and gloomy style of so-called rationalism (Architettura Razionale) just do not fit well with the ancient Roman heritage. Actually, in Rome they don’t really go together with anything.

Although there are indeed many similarities between the Roman Empire and Mussolini's Italy, aesthetically and culturally they were very far apart. Apparently, Mussolini did not feel this. He, of course, felt deep respect for the ancient empire and everything that was connected with it and symbolized it, but he did not possess any deep aesthetic feeling.

Meanwhile, he built a lot. The most famous buildings of his time in Rome are the new university buildings and everything that was created for the failed world exhibition in the southwest of the city. This is the so-called Esposizione Universale di Roma (World Exhibition Quarter). However, even the Romans are not always able to remember its full name and use only the abbreviation EUR.

Photo: Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images

The most famous of the many buildings built there was the Palace of Italian Civilization (Palazzo della Civilta Italiana), popularly ironically called the Square Colosseum.

This is a completely decent work, but aesthetically it is as far from the Colosseum of the present as it is from it in time. The ancient Romans were much more cruel, and simply cruel, than the Italian fascists, but they had, as they say, better art. In ancient Rome, contrary to Pushkin, the work of an architectural genius could, in the most literal sense of these words, become an arena for villainy. It is curious that today’s Italians, for the most part a good people, feel this discrepancy and are constantly trying to push through the idea that “not so many were killed in the Colosseum.”

In addition to classical “rational” architectural objects under Mussolini, buildings were erected in Italy, including Rome, that were strikingly reminiscent of buildings in the Stalinist Empire style.

Their facades were often decorated with reliefs depicting soldiers with carbines, workers with hammers and women with ears of corn - with one bright look for everyone, regardless of gender and age, looking towards the Great Future. The only difference from the Stalinist Empire style was that there was certainly someone else present with a compass and someone with a brush. Still, mental activity, not to mention art, was respected here more than in the USSR at that time.

Something very similar was built in Nazi Germany. Totalitarian art is generally quite monotonous, so despite all the differences between the political systems of Mussolini’s Italy, Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s USSR, there was surprisingly much in common between them in this area.

Two streets

Rome has a fantastic ability to digest everything and melt it into something of its own, which was repeatedly noted by Pavel Muratov, author of the travelogue “Images of Italy,” one of best books in Russian, dedicated to Italian art.

The ruins here are alive and naturally part of modern life. Of course, now boys don’t play football in the Coliseum like fifty years ago, but still the feeling that the past, present and future coexist either in one time or in some kind of transtemporal space remains.

Mussolini melted Rome and creativity, and with divine ease. Moreover, the Duce did not build anything as grandiose and at the same time tacky as the monument to the “typewriter”, which, by the way, he really did not like. His “rational” and Empire buildings, of course, did not dissolve. They pretty much spoil the picture, but still there is nothing tragic about them.

As for those places where its architects did not build anything of their own, but either only destroyed, or in addition also dug up someone else’s, they absolutely naturally grew into Rome and even became an integral part of it, although they caused monstrous damage to the city, which even difficult to assess.

Duce managed to implement two truly huge urban planning projects.

The first concerned the Vatican, which, for ideological reasons, he wanted to connect more closely with Rome. And at the same time, lay out a luxurious avenue for parades, where would we be without them?

For this purpose, a wide straight street about five hundred meters long was built from the Tiber embankment in the area of ​​the Castel Sant'Angelo to St. Peter's Square. It was called Via della Conciliazione (Street of Reconciliation).

I wonder who put up with whom.

Before coming to power, Mussolini was a vocal atheist, but then he decided to use Catholicism to his advantage, changed his position and began to emphasize his respect for the church in every possible way. Religiosity in Italy even became something of a sign of loyalty to the Duce’s government.

We must honestly admit that in its current form, Via della Conciliazione looks very beautiful, but whether this beauty was worth the sacrifices made to it is a big question. Especially in cases where one beauty was sacrificed for another.

This space was more than half built up. To build the new street, many buildings were demolished. Among others, the very beautiful Renaissance church of San Giacomo Scossacavalli, the church of Sant'Angelo al Corridore and much more were destroyed. Other buildings, among them palaces and churches, were dismantled and reassembled in other places.

In addition, the effect of the huge St. Peter's Square unexpectedly appearing in front of a person walking along a narrow street disappeared. She became visible from a distance in perspective. This may not be bad, but it was fundamentally different from what it was before.

In addition to buildings, people inhabiting this densely populated area were also damaged. But they were dealt with quickly. The fascist authorities did not stand on ceremony and, as had been the custom for a long time, simply moved them to the outskirts of the city to “people like them.”

Construction of Via della Conciliazione took place in 1936–1937 and was generally completed. After the war, some doubts and disputes arose about this street, like many other things created under Mussolini, but it was too late to change anything, and it was decided to complete the last details in accordance with the project.

However, the most grandiose project Mussolini had another street - Via dei Fori Imperiali (Street of the Imperial Forums), and the project was carried out back in 1924-1932.

The construction of Via dell’Impero, on the one hand, destroyed many medieval buildings, on the other, it opened up views of ancient ruins

At first, the street that ran through these places was called Via dei Monti. Apparently, the main idea of ​​the project belonged to Mussolini himself, and it was to cut through the ancient part of the city a majestic avenue from his own palace on Piazza Venezia, on the balcony of which he so loved to appear, to the Colosseum.

Here we had to solve the same problems as in other places, but on a fundamentally different scale. And as usual, Mussolini killed all the birds with one stone.

Oddly enough, here, in the area of ​​the forum, was one of the poorest and at the same time densely populated quarters of the city. Of course, it was immediately demolished, and the residents were evicted somewhere to hell on the Roman Easter cakes. The richer people who also lived here were also unlucky.

Many buildings were demolished: five churches, including such famous ones as San Lorenzo ai Monti and Santa Maria degli Angeli in Macello Martyrum, two monasteries, the male Sant'Urbano and the female Sant'Euphemia, many mansions, including very famous ones , built in the 16th–17th centuries. Both Michelangelo's house and the house where Giotto lived in the 14th century were demolished...

In general, everyone enjoyed it. The space of the forums was cut in two. If you stand facing the Colosseum, then on the left are the imperial forums - Augustus, Nerva and Trajan, and on the right are the Roman Forum and what remains of Caesar's forum. At the same time, the newly discovered parts of the imperial forums were buried again, and a street was laid along them. Much of what was not demolished was badly damaged and forever lost its former appearance.

From an archaeological point of view, Mussolini's architects committed a serious crime, but at the same time, the street with majestic ruins on both sides and the Colosseum at the end turned out to be unusually picturesque.

And the thought of the barbarity committed here does not even immediately come to mind. The demolished houses revealed stunning views of the same ruins, including the ruins of Trajan's Markets. It is no coincidence that many to this day do not know how to feel about what Mussolini did here.

Photo: Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images

On April 9, 1932, the Duce, on horseback, cut the ribbon, opened the street, which was called Imperial (Via dell’Impero), and led the parade of World War I veterans.

After World War II, the street received its current name - Via dei Fori Imperiali, and every year on June 2, here, in this very place, which appeared only thanks to Benito Mussolini, a parade is held in honor of the founding of the modern Italian Republic, which put an end to everything that was created by Italian fascism , except for a few streets and a few dozen houses.

When planning a visit to the eternal city of Rome, surprisingly, I had very little interest in the standard guidebook attractions. I was deeply bored by some Trevi Fountain, or the Spanish Steps; Of course, I read a lot about the Vatican and the Colosseum, but for some reason I was absolutely not eager to get there, leaving it almost until the last day. But I became interested in the theme of “Fascist Rome”, little known to mass tourism, in other words, the monumental architectural style era of Benito Mussolini. In the period from 1936 to 1943, a real “new” Rome was actively created in the southern part of the city, a kind of surreal city in futuristic colors, symbolizing the revival of the new Roman Empire, coupled with the greatness and supremacy of the Aryan race. The most symbolic building of this entire complex is the “Square Colosseum” (Colosseo Quadrato) - a monument of fascist architecture, built by order of Benito Mussolini in 1938 according to the design of the neoclassical architect Marcello Piacentini. I know that there will be those who will say that it is inappropriate to admire the monuments of fascism, which brought so much evil to people. To this I will answer this way: those who are not ready to analyze their past will not have a future. Therefore, welcome to fascist Rome!

The trip starts from the final station of the red metro line, Batistini, where I rented an apartment. Relatively far from the center, but cheap and cheerful -

It takes 20 minutes to get to the Vatican, 30 minutes to Roma Termini (main train station) -

On the way, change to Roma Termini -

Isn't it true that the outlying stations of the Roman metro look very deserted?

By the way, people travel en masse on the subway as hares, simply jumping over the turnstiles. I involuntarily remembered how I myself once traveled on electric trains near Moscow -

Immediately after exiting the metro, a huge complex of abandoned high-rise buildings rises -

But the first impression is deceiving; after about 10 minutes of walking you find yourself in that very “New Rome” -

The building is surrounded by a high fence around the perimeter, climbing over which I almost tore my trousers -

Famous in certain circles is the Palombini cafe, where in the late 30s every self-respecting fascist considered it right to have a croissant with coffee. Now workers from a nearby office building are resting there after taking their lunch break -

Another masterpiece, the Palace of Congresses -

A little further away there is a whole museum complex -

It’s amazing, but against the backdrop of the center of Rome, which is packed to capacity with tourists, there is not a single living soul here at all. Meanwhile, the museum is magnificent! Tell me, why do people tend to move exclusively in formation and where everyone else is going? It's so cool here -

Great-grandfather of "Zaporozhets" -

By the way, the police have been sitting in this building since 1937 -

Throughout the complex there are maps indicating interesting objects of “Fascist Rome”; generally speaking, the place is huge, really like a separate city. I walked here for two hours and didn’t have time to see even half of it -

And then it started to rain and we had to cut the program short. back on the subway -

Funny advertisements in Russian and Ukrainian near the metro -

By the way!

The most famous fascist monument in Rome is the well-known "Vittoriano", erected in honor of the first king of a united Italy, Victor Emmanuel II. Located in Piazza Venezia in Rome, on the slope of the Capitoline Hill. The project was designed by Giuseppe Sacconi in the Empire spirit of ancient Roman architecture. Construction lasted from 1885 to 1935. This building, in truth, is not fascist, because it was built before Benito Mussolini came to power in 1925. But it was on the square in front of this monument that the Duce liked to appeal to the people to come out united front on Hitler's side, standing on the balcony in the building opposite, I mean the so-called "

Demolitions are demolitions, but there must also be construction :)
It's time to look at a very famous and interesting place. One of the two most famous Roman "fascist architectural reserves". (By the way, this is where tourists go in groups:))
With all the scale of urban transformations in a city where there is the Forum of Caesar, the Forum of Augustus, the Forum of Trajan, etc. - Why shouldn’t a Mussolini forum arise? And he appeared. This is what the current Italian Forum, a complex of sports facilities in the northern part of the city, was called until 1943.
We go over there, across the Duke of Aosta Bridge. It's... interesting, in general.

The photo from 1939 shows the bridge in the process of construction. And behind it there is already something that we, in fact, will look at (there is also something to see on the bridge. But for technical reasons, I cannot show you this, alas).

The history of the complex in a nutshell is as follows. It was created on the initiative of Renato Ricci, who headed the Balilla youth organization. Ricci obtained permission from the government to build a stadium and a physical education academy on the territory, which was not originally intended for development, since it was far away, on the other bank of the Tiber, and also prone to flooding.
The origins of Ricci himself played an important role in the creation of the forum. He was from Carrara - the same place where marble is mined. Their families are the very ones who mine this marble. And for the construction, he invited his fellow countryman - the architect from Carrara, Enrico Del Debbio (1891-1962), living in Rome since 1914.
Actually, what we will see is their brainchild (and we will see only a fragment - yes, complete, preserved from those times unchanged, but still this is not all that is there).
Immediately behind the bridge is the central entrance to the forum. In the middle of the square is a white marble column, visible from afar, 17.15 meters high (this is without a pedestal;)).

This is the Mussolini obelisk.
I think the sharp-eyed ones have already noticed why it is called that ;)
This is a monolith. It was mined in Carrara, in a quarry owned by a relative of Renato Ricci.
Here is a short journey of the stone fool through Italy to its destination:
November 1928. "Mussolini Monolith" leaves the marble quarry.

March 1929. On oxen - on a barge! (Do you even see the monolith here? It’s there, at the very top, barely noticeable.)

November 1929. On the Tiber.

1932. Installation completed.

Since then he hasn't changed a bit.

And the inscription "MUSSOLINI DUX" from top to bottom is clearly visible from afar ( much better than what happened on a sunny day on a white stone in the photo). And about the balilla with the year of installation on the side.

This is definitely an incident. In fact, this is a monument to Mussolini. And it’s not that it’s not in the center or the place is not visible. Very visible. In 1960, the Summer Olympics were held at the Forum Italia stadium. The Olympic Village is located on the other side of the Tiber. Logically, you need to get to the stadium via this bridge, past the obelisk. Yes, the question of removing him was raised. But just as he rose, he fell back: it was too expensive an operation. (The scandal, by the way, was not only with the obelisk - there, behind it, behind the fence, there is something else that really underwent transformation, but insignificant. Alas, it was not possible to get close to the most interesting monument - it was tightly blocked. Either way in the events taking place on that very day, or whether the restorers finally took on it. Because the deplorable state of the object, recognized as artistic value, is known. I really wanted and want to see it. But I will honestly show only what I managed to see myself. )
And now we will be interested in two red buildings standing on both sides of the square behind the obelisk.

This is the Academy of Physical Education, built by Enrico Del Debbio.
Today it houses the sports university "Italian Forum" in one part

So, we will have a lot more of this ahead :)

And in the other, to the right of the obelisk,

is the residence of the Italian Olympic Committee (C.O.N.I. - well, horses are horses Shouldn't we move our horses? :)))...)

Now there will be HORSES from all sides. It's wonderful.

The building is also known as Palazzo H. Why is clear if you see it from above. Here, for example, in a photo from 1938:

And now - statues. These two are in front of the “horses” :) (honestly, the statues stand straight! These are the hands growing... otherwise :))

And these are from the back:

Well, since we're talking about statues, it's time to turn around and see what's right behind the CONI building.

And the Marble Stadium is located there. It owes its name to the decoration. The seats are lined with the same Carrara marble, and there are 59 marble statues around the perimeter.

They "lead" straight away from the building

Due to the crookedness, again, it’s best seen from above (yep, even in 1938 :))

However, he is still the same.
The stadium was planned for demonstration gymnastic performances. Something like that (

And here are 500 visiting Hitler Youth members marching along it:

As for the statues themselves... all of Italy took part in the design of the stadium. The statues around the stadium represent different sports, were made in different regions, and are signed with the name of the sculptor, the year and the name of the city where they are from.

The stadium is under construction

The statue closest to the Academy building is Rome.

He's in lion's skin

By the way, about lion symbolism. Mussolini was a Leo, in the sense - according to the horoscope, a Leo, and he loved and cultivated this moment in himself. It even got to the point that he had a live lion in his house... but that’s separate (if anyone wants to talk about a lion, it’s easy. Stories about human stupidity are short and instructive. Not a single lion was harmed in the end :)) Let’s return to the statues .
Here are the signatures of our Rome:

Unfortunately, we were unlucky - there were children's competitions at the stadium that day. It was not possible to wander everywhere.

The stadium is beautiful. The statues are funny. And there are many of them.

I forgot what city the football player is from:(

And the city of Bari lost the sword :)

This one with onions is from Rovigo.

I didn’t see the city on the brutal hockey player.

The man from Treviso was left without an arm:(

We can hope that we are not left without it forever - on one of the statues (with the signature of the sculptor of the early 1930s) we saw the inscription “2006” on the back - the stadium is recognized as a cultural value, they are being restored.

Turin (by the way, I couldn’t find an explanation for the fact that half of the statues are completely naked, and half have fig leaves. Judging by the photo, there were leaves in the 30s).

Behind him is Venice (she is also a guy :))

Arezzo

It was not possible to approach the swimmer from the front and recognize the city.

But I liked the fish that props it up.

And this is my favorite - naked, but on skis! (Hot Italian guy, apparently:))

Sassari (it seems he explained everything clearly without words? :))

In addition to the marble statues, the stadium has two bronze sculptural groups of extraordinary expressiveness.
One:

Second:

This decor is right in between.

It seems this is where this was filmed in 1942:

Just in this place we had an incident. The fact is that we were not alone at the stadium, not only in the sense of the children's teams and their fans. There were a couple of groups of students wandering around (some were clearly German, the other English-speaking) and several stern adults with large cameras. And somehow one of them kept walking at the same pace with us, not lagging behind. This started to worry me. In general, in the end I caught him taking precise photographs of us. Of course, I warned my friend not to go to the famous fascist stadium in a black shirt :))), but firstly, he didn’t do it on purpose (it was suddenly cold that day, and this was the only warm shirt), and secondly I didn’t believe that everything was so serious... God knows what got him interested in us. I certainly didn’t have any particular artistic value at that time, although I tried to portray a statue:

That's all. In fact, this is not all that has been preserved in the Italian Forum. But the sports complex is operational, some things need to be seen from the inside, some things from the outside, which were not seen this time, I hope to see one day :)

Rome is beautiful with its stories and amazing historical monuments, worthy of the attention of all mankind. I visited here for the first time in November last year. The city struck me with its contrasts, but one of the main goals of this trip was not the Vatican or the mega-popular Colosseum. I was attracted to stories of a completely different nature. That is why, on the very first early morning in the eternal city, I went to visit the Italian Forum (Foro Italico), better known as the Mussolini Forum.

For some reason, this complex of buildings, built only 80 years ago, is of little interest to the standard tourist, of whom there are millions in the city. But in vain, there is a lot to see here, and you can also learn the fascinating stories of Italy’s very recent and very controversial past.

So, let me tell you and show you a slightly different Rome, unusual for us, during the times of fascism and rabid nationalism!

This complex of monumental buildings was built between 1928 and 1938, somewhat away from the center of Rome at the foot of Mount Monte Mario.

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Its purpose was to promote physical education among young people, and it was also built to host the 1940 Olympic Games.

Those games were canceled due to the outbreak of World War II, but the forum still found use. As expected for that time, the entire complex was built in a monumental style and named in honor of Benito Mussolini. In the center of the complex to this day stands a granite stele with the name of the leader of the Italian fascists, and the path to the stadiums is decorated with numerous mosaic inscriptions glorifying the Duce (that’s what Mussolini was popularly called).

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Surprisingly, after the end of the war, this complex was simply renamed the Italian Forum and nothing else was changed here. On the contrary, without any complexes of guilt towards the victims of that war, numerous sporting events, football championships and Olympic Games 1960.

Over time, various other sports facilities were built nearby, among which the Olimpico stadium is considered the most famous, but the forum itself was not affected, keeping it in perfect condition. The Forum remains an important attraction in Rome for knowledgeable people and continues to serve its original purpose - the sports education of youth.

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How did it happen that the birthplace of fascism somehow doesn’t care at all about its fascist heritage? It’s probably worth remembering who Benito Mussolini was for Italy. This figure, without a doubt, ranks among the then dictators Stalin, Hitler, Franco and Salazar.

The future founder of fascism was born into a poor family, which nevertheless was able to give him a good education. His father was a blacksmith by profession and a socialist by conviction. His political views were also adopted by his eldest son, Benito. Later, the career of the future Italian dictator developed in different ways. He worked as a teacher, first served in the army, then served two years in the army, was a talented political journalist and even received the title of professor over time.

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During the First World War, he volunteered to go to the front, was wounded several times, suffered from typhus and rose to the rank of corporal. After the war, his political views changed dramatically and from a passionate socialist, Mussolini turned into an ardent nationalist.

Even before the start of Hitler's career, he heads a fascist party and is rapidly striving for power. At his instigation, Blackshirt detachments of war veterans are organized to fight communists and anarchists. The number of supporters of fascism then grew rapidly and already in 1922 Mussolini became Prime Minister of Italy with practically unlimited power.

The Italian king Victor Emmanuel III becomes a puppet of the fascist elite led by the Duce. It must be said that, despite racist views and political repression, the fascist government did a lot of useful things for Italy. Successful economic policy, the elimination of the strongest Sicilian mafia, the modernization of public transport - in a word, the majority of Italians loved and believed in their Duce.

Many powerful people in the world, including Lenin, Churchill and Roosevelt, spoke well of the Italian leader. What ruined Mussolini was his friendship with Germany and his utopian dream of reviving the greatness of the Roman Empire.

By the way, right up until the Germans captured France, the Duce hesitated and could well have taken the side of Great Britain and the United States in the outbreak of war. By the end of the war, the Italian dictator had lost all power and popular support and became a puppet in the hands of the Germans. As a result, he was caught and shot by partisans two days before Hitler’s suicide.

Well, we can say that Mussolini sincerely loved his homeland, but imperial habits and fascist ideology ruined his best aspirations. However, the Italians did not forget his services to the country and did not erase his name from their history. The Italian forum is the best example of this.

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In addition to the Mussolini Stella, this complex of buildings includes a bridge, a fountain, the Olympic Stadium, a swimming pool, tennis courts and several other buildings. The most famous object of the forum is the Marble Stadium.

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It was he who attracted me in the first place. Entrance here is absolutely free, and the building itself cannot fail to impress.

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Around the open stadium, 64 statues of athletes in ancient Roman style rise above the stands. All of them, like the Mussolini obelisk, were made of expensive Carrara marble.

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They were made in different provinces of Italy and these figures are truly impressive. They are all different, male and show the body of young athletes with all the anatomical details.

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Most of the statues represent traditional ancient sports, but there is also a figure of a hockey player, for example.

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It was quite understandable to see among them a powerfully built boxer with a typically Aryan facial expression. But among the figures, I also saw the slanted gaze of an athlete of clearly Asian origin.

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Several figures of wrestlers were made of black marble, apparently for variety. The stands here could accommodate up to five thousand people, and the fascist elite of Italy could sit on a special platform.

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I’m sure Benito Mussolini himself visited here more than once, who, by the way, was a good fencing artist, went in for swimming, skiing, horse riding and was a passionate football fan.

In addition to the Italian Forum itself, several more unusual buildings can be found nearby.

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Particularly interesting is the so-called Pallazo della Farnesina - a huge nine-story building made of white limestone. Once upon a time it was planned to house the headquarters of the fascist party. Now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is located here.

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There are still many seemingly abandoned buildings in the area. Most likely, they are all populated by athletes during the next competition.

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In general, this area is extremely beautiful. There is a lot of greenery and virtually no garbage. Walking around the forum is a real pleasure.

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And the historical, albeit not always clear, accents only add their charm.

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As you understand, I strongly recommend a visit here to anyone who is tired of the crowds near the Trevi fountains and the queues of the Vatican. You just need to understand that the phrases Italian fascism and Benito Mussolini are not perceived here as something illegal that should be forgotten, like a bad dream. All this is as much a part of the history of Rome as the Borgia family or the bloody Emperor Nero.

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In Italy, monuments to Mussolini were not demolished and they view him rather positively. He created a social system like no other. When speaking about the victims of fascism, Italians mean those who died at the hands of the Germans.

Anyone who comes to Rome for the first time will certainly be shown the Forum Italico, Mussolini's favorite brainchild - a sports complex, the concept and architecture of which was developed under his leadership and which was previously called the Forum Mussolini. He saw in this complex a model according to which fascist art and architecture should develop.

In front of the main entrance there is a seventeen-meter marble column on which is carved: “Mussolini Dux” (Mussolini - leader, Duce). The column has stood since 1932, that is, it has survived the period of greatness of the Duce, and the partisans who hanged Mussolini himself, and the arrival of the troops of the anti-Hitler coalition. And no one seemed to think of blowing it up or even etching out the inscription. And the “Forum”, in front of which there is a marble column, was restored in 2009, that is, restored in the form in which Mussolini invented it, with frescoes depicting the war in Ethiopia. Against this backdrop, the World Swimming Championships took place.

By the way, in Italy, in a conversation with you, they will definitely emphasize that the country owes its success in swimming to Mussolini, who himself swam a lot, and raised this sport to serious heights.

Visit to Mussolini's homeland

"I think that 30-40 percent of Italians today think well of Mussolini," he told a radio station journalist Deutschlandfunk a man he met in the cemetery, near the crypt of the Mussolini family in the town of Predappio. True, the dictator’s coffin was placed in the crypt only in 1957. Before that, he was hidden in one of the monasteries: they were afraid that he would be kidnapped by the Duce’s supporters. And the fact that Mussolini still has many supporters can be judged by the crowds that constantly come to the cemetery and by the fresh flowers on the grave.

When asked about their attitude towards Mussolini, some cemetery visitors answer evasively, saying that the old people still value him because he gave them a pension, introduced compulsory education, and created a fire service. Others do not hide the fact that they still believe in Mussolini’s national ideals, but consider it a mistake that he “got involved” in the war and wanted to take over other countries.

After visiting the cemetery, many go to the house where Mussolini was born. There is no family furniture here; it was burned at the end of the war, after the overthrow of the regime - not out of hatred, but simply to keep warm. “People didn’t have a sense of history,” sighs one of the visitors. In the building itself there is an exhibition critically assessing the Mussolini period.

Mussolini, Hitler's predecessor

By the end of the 1920s, a totalitarian fascist dictatorship was created in Italy, all opposition structures were dispersed, and their leaders were arrested or expelled. To persecute and punish opponents of the regime, Mussolini created a special secret police, which he controlled himself, and a special tribunal that convicted more than 4,600 anti-fascists during the years of the Duce’s rule.

Mussolini considered reprisals against political opponents to be quite natural and necessary when establishing a new government. He said that freedom has always existed only in the imagination of philosophers, and the people, they say, ask him not for freedom, but for bread, houses, water pipes. It is this social component that remains mainly in the memory of the people. Mussolini created such a broad and multifaceted social security system that did not exist anywhere else in those years. The Duce understood that violence alone could not create a strong foundation for the regime. It is necessary for people to agree with the existing order.

The mayor of Predappio, the Duce’s hometown, jokingly says that Mussolini would have made a good mayor of the city, but that’s why he became a dictator, because democracy is so good.

Why did no deep hatred of Mussolini arise in Italy? There are at least two explanations for this, says journalist Paolo Rumits. Firstly, the regime was not as bloody as Stalin’s and Hitler’s; the scope of repression in the country was significantly less. And secondly, at the end of the war, Italy turned from Hitler's best ally into the last victim of the Nazis. And therefore, on the Day of Remembrance of the Victims, Italians talk not about the victims of the dictator Mussolini, but about the victims of Hitler in Italy. In addition, the Italians themselves dealt with their dictator, so they can consider themselves winners.