A rare first edition of this luxurious illustrated folio atlas published in 1939 as an advance view of the architecture of the Esposizione Universale di Roma , the world's fair planned for 1942 to celebrate the twenty years of Fascism under Benito Mussolini. Due to the outbreak of World War II, the Exposition never took place, but much of its built environment was later completed and today forms the core of Rome's EUR district, a major example of mid-century urban planning, famous for its Fascist-era architecture. The book's 27 illustrations (including four double-page spreads and 13 full-page spreads) were printed by the Milanese studio Arti Grafiche Pizzi & Pizo, which specialized in fine commercial color offset work. Published before the buildings were completed, and before many had even been started, the book is therefore a valuable record of the genesis of this ambitious project, and its vibrant illustrations are in themselves intriguing examples of Fascist-era aesthetics.
The project, initially known as E42 (Exposition 1942), was conceived in 1936 under the direction of Vittorio Cini, who wrote the preface to this volume. The idea was to build a completely new district to direct Rome's expansion southwest, towards the sea. This district was to be both an attraction for the fair and a new center of the city. After some controversy over architectural and urban planning principles, the project was shared by Marcello Piacentini (1881-1960) and Giuseppe Pagano (1896-1945), leaders of the rival factions of reactionaries and progressives in Italian architecture, who assigned their favorite architects to design the individual buildings in the district. The overall design was inspired by Roman imperial town planning, with modern elements of Italian rationalism, and the result was a form of sober neoclassicism, with wide axial streets and austere buildings in limestone, tuff and marble.
The Universal Exhibition in Rome was cancelled on 3 June 1941, but after the Second World War it was decided that EUR could be the basis for an extra-urban commercial district, an idea that other European capitals would only take up decades later (for example, London's Docklands and La Défense in Paris). In the 1950s and 1960s, unfinished fascist-era buildings were completed and more contemporary buildings were added, all intended for corporate offices and government buildings. EUR thus offers a glimpse of what Italian cities might have looked like had the fascist regime not fallen.
The volume illustrates the most important structures in the EUR today, including the Palazzo dei Congressi, the Palazzo dell’INPS, the church of Santi Pietro e Paolo on Via Ostiense, and the iconic Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, sometimes called the Colosseo Quadrato. It also illustrates numerous features that were never built, the most notable of which was a monumental 100-meter-high arch that would later provide the inspiration for Eero Saarinen’s “Gateway Arch” (1910–61) in St. Louis (designed 1947). Although the volume is primarily devoted to the built environment of the exposition, it also covers new transportation systems for the fair/district, issues of housing, entertainment, and media, and recent excavations at the ancient port of Ostia in Rome.
This deluxe folio volume, which the colophon states was published in 1200 copies, is made of specially commissioned paper and watermarked “E 42” and “PM Fabriano”. It should not be confused with the much more common quarto-format souvenir book published under almost the same title.