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Mussolini and the idealisation of empire : the Augustan exhibition of Romanita

Marcello, Flavia 2011, Mussolini and the idealisation of empire : the Augustan exhibition of Romanita, Modern Italy : the journal of the association for the study of modern Italy, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 223-247.

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Title Mussolini and the idealisation of empire : the Augustan exhibition of Romanita
Author(s) Marcello, Flavia
Journal name Modern Italy : the journal of the association for the study of modern Italy
Volume number 16
Issue number 3
Start page 223
End page 247
Publisher Routledge
Place of publication Abingdon, England
Publication date 2011-08
ISSN 1353-2944
1469-9877
Keyword(s) architecture
exhibitions
fascism
Mussolini
Summary The Augustan Exhibition of Romanita`, held in Rome’s Palazzo delle Esposizioni between 1937 and 1938, exemplifies the aestheticisation, ritualisation and sacralisation of politics during the Fascist era in Italy. This article conducts a multi-layered spatial analysis of the exhibition that considers space as passively experienced, as an agent to re-map memory, as a mediator between intention and reception and as having both physical and mental characteristics. The relative sizes of the spaces, their sequence and their axial placement within the Palazzo’s plan were the most powerful forces that conveyed the exhibition’s overall political and social aims. The Mostra Augustea della Romanita` (MAR) is here analysed as a form of historical representation with a specific narrative which is played out within an orchestrated space in order to create and reinforce a (Fascist) political identity. The idea of Rome took on material aspects through a kind of ‘recognition effect’ for the visitor by presenting Romanita` as a collective mirror in which to view an image of their own social visage. Thus an active connection would, according to the organisers, be forged between a Roman past and a Fascist present, and its two leaders and creators, Augustus and Mussolini, as well as between the individual and society. The MAR also demonstrates the prevalence of the cult of Il Duce in Fascist society and its importance for maintaining high levels of consent. With its focus on a particular view of the ancient world, the MAR was an ephemeral event that acted as teleological justification for the advent and supposed permanence of Fascism, which at the same time presented itself as a unique archaeological, scientific and educational document of the Roman world.
Language eng
Field of Research 120103 Architectural History and Theory
Socio Economic Objective 970112 Expanding Knowledge in Built Environment and Design
HERDC Research category C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal
Copyright notice ©2011, Association for the Study of Modern Italy
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30037165

Document type: Journal Article
Collection: School of Architecture and Built Environment
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