EUR district Rome | guide in Rome – Visiting Rome Tours

EUR, Rome

🌐 The district of Eur is a vast complex of buildings, the construction of which in the southwestern part of Rome was scheduled for the World Exhibition of Fascist Regime Achievements. It was supposed to be held in 1942, but the event was interrupted by World War II. It is noteworthy that some tourist maps do not have this district on them.

🌐 The design of the EUR district was started in 1935 by order of Benito Mussolini himself. He wanted to build a new Roman Empire and capture its greatness in stone, as the ancient rulers did. The complex consists of the main avenue ‘Christopher Columbus’, two squares, Museum of Ethnography and Medieval Art, St. Peter and Paul Cathedral and many other palaces.

🌐 The most prominent ones are the Palace of Culture and Labor (or, as it is called, the “square Colosseum”), which has 216 facade arches instead of the windows and the Palace of Congresses. The buildings are built of white marble and limestone, have ascetic appearance, and in some places are furnished with columns and sculptures.

🌐 The architects, led by Marcello Piacentini, tried to combine the ancient classics with the imperial scale to amuse Mussolini’s ego. The idea of the “Square Coliseum” was conceived by Mussolini himself. He wanted the palace to resemble the ancient Roman Colosseum.

🌐 There are arched loggias on each side of the building – six vertical and nine horizontal loggias. It is said that the number of loggias perpetuates the memory of Benito Mussolini, because his name has six letters, and his last name has nine.

🌐 At the top of the building on all four sides there are words from the speech of the Duce on October 2, 1935: a nation of poets, of artists, of heroes, of saints, of thinkers, of scientists, of navigators, of transmigrators.

Since 2015, the “Square Coliseum” has been the headquarters of the world-famous fashion house “Fendi”. #Fendi rents the building for 2.8 million euros per year with a contract of 15 years.

🌐 The construction of the complex EUR resumed only in the 50’s and ended by the time of the Olympic Games in 1960. Today EUR is a prestigious district with incredibly expensive real estate and a small number of tourists.