Bauhaus-Institut für Geschichte und Theorie der Architektur und Planung Symposium ‟Urban Design and Dictatorship in the 20th century: Italy, Portugal, the Soviet Union, Spain and Germany. History and Historiography” Weimar, November 21-22, 2013 Landscape and City during Fascism: Enrico del Debbio’s Foro Mussolini1 Maria Luisa Neri Università di Camerino – Scuola di Architettura e Design - Ascoli Piceno - Italy
[email protected] Last version: April 21, 2015 Keywords: urban history, urban design, fascist period, sport city, Rome, Enrico Del Debbio Abstract: The launch of approximately forty design contests between 1925 and 1940 saw the involvement of various protagonists. They focused on very important topics and several different hypotheses of urban growth were put forward in an attempt to define a new urban concept. To fully understand the urban design of the Foro Mussolini we must remember that Del Debbio considered landscape and architecture as part of a larger urban environment. An important part of his urban philosophy was a planning system that could merge different scales of intervention and solve several outstanding issues. Del Debbio’s first overall plan drafted in 1928 already contained the main features of his architectural, landscape, and urban plan. He continued to work on it till 1933 when he finalised the plan which was in fact implemented, enlarging the extensive natural parkland. He started to work again on the Forum in 1938 when a decision was taken to locate the Palazzo Littorio in that area (in 1940 it became the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). His work continued until 1960 during which time he was involved in the new plans to prepare the Forum (renamed Foro Italico) for the upcoming XVII Olympic Games in 1960.