Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana historical timeline

Designed for a world's fair that never opened, halted by a war, finished afterwards, and now a fashion house's head office.

Chronology

1. 1936 — the building is conceived.
2. 1937 — it is designed in view of the Universal Exposition of Rome of 1942.
3. After the competition — a jury presided over by Marcello Piacentini chooses the design of Giovanni Guerrini, Ernesto La Padula and Mario Romano.
4. 1938 — construction begins at the centre of the Quadrato della Concordia, within the great urban intervention that led to the building of the EUR quarter.
5. 1943 — the works are interrupted because of the Second World War.
6. Post-war — the building is completed. The structure, conceived in masonry, was for reasons of economy and time realised in reinforced concrete and faced with slabs of travertine.
7. Intended use — it was to have housed the Mostra della Civiltà Italiana during the Exposition and then become a permanent museum of Italian civilisation, whence the inscription at its summit.
8. Today — it houses the headquarters of the Maison Fendi, holding the Direction and the offices, and is open to the public on the occasion of events and exhibitions.

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• Wikipedia