The building in the picture is commonly known by Romans as the ‘Square Colosseum’.
The real name is ‘Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana’ and is located in the EUR neighborhood, a district with modern buildings recalling ancient monumentality.
It was started by Italy’s dictator Benito Mussolini in the 1930s with the aim of hosting ‘Rome’s Universal Exhibition’ which would take place in 1942, never organized due to the Second World War.
It is currently the headquarters of Maison Fendi and has 54 arches per facade, 6 vertically and 9 horizontally. It seems that this combination corresponded to the number of letters of ‘Benito Mussolini’.
Under the arches, 28 imposing statues in Carrara marble stand out, symbolizing different crafts and fields: music, painting, poetry, philosophy, commerce and agriculture, among others.
At the top of the building there is a phrase stamped on all its sides:
“A people of poets, artists, heroes, saints, thinkers, scientists, navigators and migrants.”
Maurizio Rome Guide 