EUR is a residential area and the major business district in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, Italy, part of the
Municipio IX.
The area was originally chosen in the 1930s as the site for the
1942 World's Fair which
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
planned to open to celebrate
twenty years of
Fascism
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
, the letters EUR standing for Esposizione Universale Roma ("Rome Universal Exposition"). The project was originally called ''E42'' after the year in which the exhibition was to be held. EUR was also designed to direct the expansion of the city towards the south-west and the sea, and to be a new city centre for Rome. The planned exhibition never took place due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Most of the area is the property of EUR S.p.A., a company jointly owned by the
Ministry of Economy and the
Metropolitan City of Rome Capital.
History
The complex was planned to be home to a
World's fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...
to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the
March on Rome
The March on Rome () was an organized mass demonstration in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (, PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, Fascist Party leaders planned a march ...
and of the beginning of the
Fascist era. The autonomous agency responsible for organization and construction of the project, E42 (''Esposizione 1942''), was created on 26 December 1936.
On 26 April 1937
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
planted a
cluster pine at the centre of the site of the future EUR district. Ultimately he wanted to push the Roman urban area towards the sea.
The general commissioner of the agency,
Vittorio Cini, presented a list of the most prominent Italian architects available to Benito Mussolini. The list included
Adalberto Libera,
Enrico Del Debbio,
Giuseppe Terragni,
Giovanni Michelucci, Adamius, Eugenio Montuori and
Giovanni Muzio. Among the large list,
Marcello Piacentini (head of the project),
Giuseppe Pagano Pogatschnig,
Luigi Piccinato, Luigi Vietti and Ettore Rossi were chosen.
The first project, on an area of , was presented in 1938.
The name was later changed to EUR, and the final project was presented in 1939.
The events of the Second World War intervened, the Expo failed to take place, and the original project was left uncompleted when the works had to stop in 1942.
During World War II the uncompleted EUR development suffered severe damage.
However, the Roman authorities decided that EUR could be the basis of an out-of-town
business district
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit."
A business entity is not necessar ...
, which other capitals did not begin planning until decades later (for example,
London Docklands
London Docklands is an area of London encompassing the city’s former docks. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of London Borough of Southwark, Southwark, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Tower Hamlets, London ...
and
La Défense near Paris). During the 1950s and 1960s the unfinished Fascist-era buildings were completed and other new buildings were built in contemporary styles for use as offices and government buildings, set in large gardens and parks.
EUR was almost fully completed for the
1960 Olympics, held in Rome. At that time, most of the important infrastructures, such as the
Palazzo dello Sport (designed by
Nervi and
Piacentini) and the
Velodromo were completed.
The EUR development agency, founded in 1936, became a on 15 March 2000
and is still responsible for some aspects of management and organization of the area.
After a period of controversy over its architectural and urban planning principles, the project to design EUR was commissioned from the leaders of both of the rival factions in Italian architecture:
Marcello Piacentini for the "reactionaries" and
Giuseppe Pagano for the "progressives". Each of them brought in their own preferred architects to design individual buildings within the district. EUR offers a large-scale image of how urban Italy might have looked if the Fascist regime had not fallen; wide axially planned streets and austere buildings of either ''
stile Littorio'', inspired by ancient
Roman architecture, or
Rationalism
In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...
, modern architecture but built using traditional
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
,
tuff and
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
.
Architecture
The initial project was presented in 1938 under the direction of Marcello Piacentini. The design was inspired, according to the
fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
ideology
An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
, by
Roman Imperial town planning,
with modern elements which came from Italian
rationalism
In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...
, the result being a sort of simplified
neoclassicism
Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...
.
The project develops over
orthogonal
In mathematics, orthogonality (mathematics), orthogonality is the generalization of the geometric notion of ''perpendicularity''. Although many authors use the two terms ''perpendicular'' and ''orthogonal'' interchangeably, the term ''perpendic ...
axes and large and stately buildings, built mainly of
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
,
tuff and
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
, traditional materials associated with
Roman Empire architecture.
The most representative building at EUR, and the symbol of this architectural style, is the ''
Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana'' (1938–1943), an iconic project which has since become known as the "Colosseo Quadrato" (''Square Colosseum''). The building was designed by Giovanni Guerrini, Ernesto Lapadula and Mario Romano, also inspired by
metaphysical art.
In 1938
Luigi Moretti (with Fariello,
Muratori and
Quaroni) won the competition for the design of the Imperial Square (now Piazza Guglielmo Marconi). The large building fronting the square was never finished, but after the war the structures already constructed were used for the ''"Skyscraper Italy (Grattacielo Italia)"'' by
Luigi Mattioni.
Other notable buildings are:
* ''
Palazzo dei Ricevimenti e dei Congressi''
* ''
Archivio Centrale dello Stato''
* ''Basilica parrocchiale dei Santi Pietro e Paolo''
* Palazzo degli Uffici, with the statue once titled "
Genius of Fascism"
*
INA palace and
INPS palace
Several museums are also present. These comprise the
Museum of Roman Civilization (Roman Culture Museum), the ''Museo Nazionale dell'Alto Medioevo'' (National Museum of the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
) and the ''Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico Luigi Pigorini'' (Prehistoric Ethnographic Museum). A new
planetarium, connected to the ''Astronomy Museum'', opened in 2004.
Economy
EUR is the headquarters of many companies and public bodies, such as
Confindustria, the
Ministry of Health, the
Ministry of communications, the
Archivio Centrale dello Stato,
the
Ministry of the Environment, the
SIAE, the
Agenzia ICE,
Eni
Eni is an Italian oil and gas corporation.
Eni or ENI may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
* Escuela Nacional de Inteligencia, the Argentine intelligence academy
* Groupe des écoles nationales d’ingénieurs (Groupe ENI), a French engi ...
company,
UniCredit,
Poste italiane
Poste Italiane (, , abbr. PT) is the Italy, Italian postal service provider.
Besides providing postal services, Poste Italiane offers communications, Postal savings system, postal savings products, logistics, and Financial services, financial a ...
,
INAIL,
INPS, and many other multinational companies. It also hosted the
NATO Defense College from 1966 until 1999.
Education
The "bibliopoint" ''Istituto superiore "Leon Battista Alberti"'' is located in the EUR.
There are a lot of schools in EUR such as "Liceo Scientifico Statale Stanislao Cannizzaro", Liceo Ginnasio Statale "Francesco Vivona", another one is also ITC "Vincenzo Arangio Ruiz"; those three are all public schools, while there are also private institutes like: "Istituto Massimiliano Massimo" and Highlands Institute
Sport
*There were 3 aborted attempts to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix. the first in 1985 as the Grand Prix of Europe/European Grand Prix, then as the Rome GP in 2009 and 2012.
*In 2018, motor racing championship
Formula E held a round on the
Circuito Cittadino dell'EUR street track, a course which encompasses the ward. The race was won by Briton
Sam Bird. The edition of 2022 was won by
Mitch Evans for
Jaguar Cars
Jaguar (, ) is the sports car and luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational corporation, multinational automaker, car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that ...
.
In popular culture
The Fascist architecture of EUR was prominently featured in
Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni ( ; ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents", ''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and '' ...
's 1962 film ''
L'Eclisse
''L'Eclisse'' () is a 1962 romantic drama film co-written and directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring Alain Delon and Monica Vitti, with Francisco Rabal, Lilla Brignone, and Louis Seigner. Filmed on location in Rome and Verona, the story ...
'' and
Bernardo Bertolucci's 1970 film ''
The Conformist''. Additionally, multiple buildings were shown in
Federico Fellini's films ''
8½'' and ''
Boccaccio '70
''Boccaccio '70'' is a 1962 comedy anthology film directed by Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini, Mario Monicelli and Luchino Visconti from an idea by Cesare Zavattini. It consists of four episodes, each by one of the directors, all about ...
''.
The location was also used as the headquarters of Mayflower Industries in the 1991 movie ''
Hudson Hawk'' and served as a backdrop for scenes from the 1999 film adaptation of
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's
''Titus Andronicus''.
Lara Wendel's death scene in the 1982 movie ''
Tenebrae'' was also shot in the location.
Extensive portions of
''The Last Man on Earth'' were filmed in EUR.
The burial of Marco Sciarra in 007's ''
Spectre'' was filmed at
Museum of Roman Civilization.
Gallery
File:Eur aereo edit.JPG, Aerial view
File:Potere.jpg, Central Archives of the State
File:EUR - Roma - Palazzo dell'INA e dell'NPS.JPG, Palazzo INA
File:Museo nazionale delle arti e tradizioni popolari in 2018.04.jpg, National Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions
File:Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana a EUR Roma.jpg, Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana
File:Palazzo dei Congressi a EUR Roma.jpg, Palazzo dei Ricevimenti e Congressi
File:Museo della Civiltà Romana a EUR Roma.jpg, Museum of Roman Civilization
File:Basilica dei Santi Pietro e Paolo in 2018.04.jpg, St. Peter and St. Paul Basilica
File:Roma EUR Cascata del Laghetto e Palazzo dello Sport.jpg, The Palazzo dello Sport seen from the waterfalls of the lake
File:2013-04-11 Roma Parco Lago EUR.jpg, Parco Centrale del Lago (Central Lake Park)
File:Il complesso delle Poste Italiane all'EUR.JPG, The lake
File:Foto Hanami parco del Lago dell'EUR.jpg, Hanami blossoming in the Parco Centrale del Lago
File:Laghetto dell'eur di notte con illuminazione.jpg, View of the district at night
Post-fascist architecture
File:Roma EUR sede centrale INPS.jpg, Palazzo INPS, 1967
File:2012-07-19 Roma EUR Fungo (torre serbatoio).jpg, ''Il Fungo'' (The Mushroom), 1960
File:Roma Convention Center 2018.jpg, New Convention Center designed by Massimiliano Fuksas, 2016
EUR during the 1960s
Photos taken by Italian photographer
Paolo Monti, showing the district during the 1960s:
File:Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (Roma, 1967) - BEIC 6349148.jpg
File:Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (Roma, 1967) - BEIC 6349155.jpg
File:Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (Roma, 1967) - BEIC 6364270.jpg
File:Paolo Monti - Roma Eur 1967 stazione Fermi.jpg
File:Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (Roma, 1967) - BEIC 6349154.jpg
See also
*
Euroméditerranée, area with similar characteristics in Marseille
*
22@Barcelona, area with similar characteristics in Barcelona
References and notes
Bibliography
* Christine Beese: ''Marcello Piacentini. Moderner Städtebau in Italien.'' Berlin 2016, pp. 300–329.
*
*
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2019
Modernist architecture in Italy
Central business districts
Italian fascist architecture
Central business districts in Italy
Stripped Classical architecture