FENDI INAUGURATES PALAZZO DELLA CIVILTA'

Fendi officially cut the ribbon to its new sprawling Roman headquarters inside the imposing Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, an authentic symbol of the Eternal City. At the same time, the venerable luxurygoods brand inaugurated the first exhibition inside the venue called “Una Nuova Roma. L’Eur e il Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana.” The theme? Images dedicated to the extreme makeover of the palazzo and to Rome.
Guests included LVMH chief Bernard Arnault, Karl Lagerfeld, Italy’s minister of reforms Maria Elena Boschi and Carla Fendi. The opening ceremony featured Poesia di Luce, a powerful lighting installation by artist Mario Nanni with sunset hues and flapping birds projected across the façade. Did you know…that the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana is also known as Colosseo Quadrato (Square Colosseum). An icon of Fascist architecture, it was conceived in 1935 by Benito Mussolini for the Esposizione Universale di Roma, the universal exposition that never took place because of the war. Designed by architects Giovanni Guerrini,Ernesto Bruno La Padula and Mario Romano, it was inaugurated in 1940. Inspired by the Colosseum, the facade of the Palazzo della Civiltà features a series of superimposed loggias displayed in six rows of nine arches each. These numbers are said to be an allusion to the name of the Fascist dictator: "Benito" having six letters and "Mussolini," nine. Barely used since World War II, thanks to Fendi, it’s now living a second life.