Giuseppe Terragni’s Casa del Fascio: Ambiguity Between Fascism and Modernism

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Andrea!Sandell! Art!and!Dictatorship! Prof. Köhler! April!5,!2015! Giuseppe!Terragni’s!Casa!del!Fascio:! Ambiguity!Between!Fascism!and!Modernism! The!fragmentation!of!Italy’s!architectural!landscape!following!the!First!World!War! hinders!the!positive!recognition!of!a!clear!modernist!trend!in!the!country. Certainly,!the! emergence!of!the!Fascist!totalitarian!regime!in!1922!obstructed!the!development!of! architecture!in!the!Kingdom!of!Italy. However,!modernism’s!weak!establishment!was!also! a!product!of!the!country’s!isolation!to!the!industrial!preconditions!that!emerged! elsewhere!in!the!preceding!century. The!extent!to!which!interwar!modernism!took!shape! in!Italy!must!therefore!be!analyzed!within!this!historic!background. Of!the!diverse! ideological!schools!present!in!Italy!at!the!time,!the!Rationalists!espoused!an!approach!to! architecture!most!in!line!with!developed!European!efforts. The!movement’s!potential! finds!its!clearest!expression!in!one!of!its!founding!members,!Giuseppe!Terragni,!whose! Casa!del!Fascio!in!Como!addresses!the!socioTpolitical!context!in!which!it!arose. As!an!icon! of!Rationalism,!the!Casa!del!Fascio’s!architecture!rests!in!a!perilous!balance!between!the! influences!of!Fascism!and!the!underdeveloped!modernism!of!Italy. Rather!than! oversimplifying!Rationalism!to!a!plagiarism!of!European!modernism!coupled!with!a! desire!to!fulfill!Party!aspirations,!Terragni’s!work!elucidates!the!careful!and! unprecedented!intertwining!of!historicism!and!modernity!the!movement!proposed. !

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Sandell!2! The!new!building!techniques!and!engineering!methods!of!the!1850’s!arrived!late!in!

Italy;!the!social!and!urban!implications!of!the!industrial!revolution!emerged!weaker!than! 1

in!the!rest!of!Europe. Architectural!taste!was!thus!underdeveloped. An!Arts!and!Crafts! movement!didn’t!emerge!to!reinvigorate!Italian!craftsmanship,!and!Art!Nouveau!was! 2

misunderstood!and!simplified!to!a!highly!decorative!Stile!Liberty. In!a!series!of! chronological!comparisons,!Zevi!reapplies!this!image!of!backward!Italian!architecture!to! the!interwar!years. In!1914!when!Gropius’!work!closed!the!initial!chapter!of!modernism! with!the!Wekbund!Cologne!exhibition,!Sant’Elia!published!his!Futurist!manifesto,!the!first! ideological!break!from!Italian!artistic!tradition. Similarly,!when!in!1931!Rationalism!tried! to!bring!the!essence!of!modernism!to!Italy,!Aalto!had!already!inaugurated!organic! architecture.3! !

In!December!of!1926,!the!first!of!four!Rationalist!articles!was!published!in!the!

journal!“Rassegna!Italiana”. These!articles,!written!by!a!group!of!seven!young!graduates! from!the!Milan!Polytechnic,!confronted!functionalism!and!the!architectural!poetic!that! 4

originated!mainly!in!continental!Europe. Under!the!name!of!Gruppo!7,!the!authors!–who! included!Terragni!–!found!particular!influences!in!the!Futurists,!Behrens,!Mies,!Gropius,! Le!Corbusier,!and!Van!Doesburg. Rather!than!conceiving!a!new!architecture,!they! championed!a!“new!spirit”!that!rested!on!an!adherence!to!a!rational!logic!in!design.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1!Zevi,!p.!165.! 2!Ibid.! 3!Ibid.!p.!166.! 4!De!Benedetti,!p.!734.! 5!Qtd.!in!De!Benedetti,!p.!735.!

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Their!polemic!was!structured!around!the!evolution!of!the!Italian!architectural!tradition. As!Peckham!explains,!the!1926!manifesto!constructs!its!definition!of!Italian!Rationalism! around!an!identification!with!a!“new!spirit”!evocative!of!Le!Corbusier,!with!order,! 6

simplicity,!and!lucidity,!and!with!a!contemporary!renewal!of!tradition. !“Careful!to! distance!themselves!from!the!Futurists,”!Peckham!continues,!“the!Gruppo!7’s!perspective! was!tempered!by!their!own!expectations!of!an!‘Italian’!Modernism.”7 Though!Futurism! symbolized!a!necessary!accusation!of!Italian!cultural!conformism,!for!the!Gruppo!7!the! “new!spirit!is!based!on!an!assured!cognizance!of!the!past,”!whereby!tradition!is! transformed!and!assumes!new!aspects.8!The!translation!of!Rationalist!ideology!to!praxis! was!also!addressed!in!the!original!articles. The!classical!substratum!of!Italian!architecture! should!be!preserved!in!“spirit”!rather!than!“form.”9 Through!the!possibilities!granted!by! reinforced!concrete!and!large!expanses!of!glass!similar!“monumental!values”!could!be! established!by!a!liberated!aesthetic!no!longer!dependent!on!classical!dimensions!and! 10

proportions.

As!the!Gruppo!7!states!in!the!last!of!the!four!articles,!“a!new!aesthetic!

necessarily!arises,!completely!different!from!the!traditional,!and!the!general!skeleton!of! the!construction,!the!rhythmic!partitioning!of!solids!and!voids,!assume!completely!new! forms.”11 !

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 6!Peckham,!p.!13.! 7!Ibid.!! 8!Qtd. in!De!Benedetti,!p.!736T737.! 9!De!Benedetti,!p.!738.! 10!Ibid.!p.!739.! 11!Qtd.!in!De!Benedetti,!p.!739.!

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Sandell!4! The!concern!for!rhythm,!volumes,!and!the!surface!value!of!elements!espoused!by!

early!Rationalist!doctrine!finds!an!almost!literal!translation!in!Terragni’s!Casa!del!Fascio. Constructed!under!Party!commission!in!1932,!the!Casa!is!a!symbol!of!Terragni’s!quest!of! “forms!capable!of!interpreting!(and!communicating)!a!political!message”!within!a! modernist!vocabulary.12!Located!in!the!historic!center!of!Como,!the!structure!stands!as!a! perfectly!square!half!cube. Its!four!sides!surround!a!rectangular!internal!courtyard!visible! through!the!front!and!rear!façades. The!main!elevation!is!marked!by!regular!rows!of!fiveT bay!balconies!that!expose!the!structural!framework!of!the!building!(image!1). A!solid!wall! for!the!length!of!two!more!bays!breaks!the!rhythmic!structural!grid!to!the!right. The! south!and!east!façades!unfold!an!alternation!between!office!windows!and!the!large!glass! walled!areas!of!the!stairwells. The!back!façade!reiterates!the!voids!and!solids!of!the!main! elevation,!with!emphasis!brought!on!the!recessed!balconies!through!the!inclusion!of!glass! brick!balustrades!(images!3,!4). As!Pifferi!explains,!Terragni!“differentiates!the!four! façades!on!the!basis!of!hierarchy!and!the!planned!use!of!the!interior!spaces.”13 This! hierarchical!relation!emerges!clearest!in!two!respects. Firstly,!the!main!elevation!reveals! a!concern!for!monumental!frontality,!with!the!threeTdimensional!gridded!cage!only! becoming!visible!as!it!turns!the!corner!and!solidifies!into!the!massive!walls!of!the!side! elevations. Secondly,!the!central!court!is!articulated!externally!on!the!eastTwest!axis,!with! solid!giving!way!to!void!as!the!frame!stands!by!itself,!supporting!no!walls!(image!2). As! Terragni!himself!explained!in!his!assessment!of!the!building,!“it!is!the!type!of!construction! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 12!D’Amia,!Terragni,!and!Pifferi,!p.!64.! 13!Ibid.!

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defined!by!Le!Corbusier!as!‘tres)genereux,’!giving!clear!evidence!of!the!very!regular! skeleton!of!the!structure!and!leaving!ample!freedom!for!spaces!and!voids!(never!any! protrusions)!in!the!walls!enclosing!the!building.”14!Terragni!sensibly!alternates!the! possibilities!of!wall!placement!granted!by!the!Modernist!canon!of!a!regular!structural!row! into!a!maximal!expression!of!volume!and!relation!between!solid!and!void. ! !

As!suggested!from!the!exterior,!the!internal!organization!of!the!building!develops!

around!the!rectangular!central!atrium!that!completely!dissects!the!building!on!the!ground! and!third!floors. Using!a!planning!scheme!suggestive!of!the!Renaissance!palazzo,!Terragni! roofs!this!central!zone!with!concreteTframed!glass!blocks,!creating!an!illuminated! “physical!and!symbolic!heart!of!the!edifice.”15!Connected!to!the!Piazza!through!an! unbroken!wall!of!glass!composed!of!a!fifteen!glazed!door!battery,!the!entrance!lobby! opens!widthTways!on!the!main!axis!(images!5,!7). On!the!transversal!axis!lie!instead!the! Sanctuary!to!the!Fallen,!to!the!left,!and!the!main!staircase,!to!the!right. The!first!and! second!floors!develop!circuitously!around!the!covered!courtyard,!with!Party!leadership! offices!and!libraries!arranged!along!a!terrace!overlooking!the!atrium!(image!6). On!the! third!floor!the!outline!of!the!atrium!is!reiterated!through!an!open!terrace!that!separates! the!Fascist!University!Group!premises!from!the!archives!and!the!custodian’s!living! quarters.! !

While!conceived!to!be!responsive!to!its!users,!with!ample!natural!light!and!a!

confortable!work!setting,!the!Casa!del!Fascio!contained!an!added!layer!of!mental!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 14!Qtd. in!Schumacher,!p.!149.! 15!D’Amia,!Terragni,!and!Pifferi,!p.!64.!

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engagement!achieved!through!an!additional!psychological!agenda. As!described!by! Terragni:!! “. . . here!the!concept!of!visibility,!of!instinctive!control!established! between!the!public!and!those!attached!to!the!Federation!predominates!in! the!study!of!this!Casa!del!Fascio!. . . it!is!a!prism!which!constantly!changes,! in!the!equilibrium!between!its!own!layout!and!in!the!differences!in!its! layouts:!dynamic!asymmetry,!thus!locked!and!ever!fresh!with!connotative! inventions.”16!! Descriptive!of!the!ambiguous!duality!with!which!Terragni’s!project!can!be!understood,! the!above!passage!illustrates!the!architect’s!careful!balance!of!Fascist!principles!within! Rationalist!ideology. To!a!project!that!“had!to!accommodate!numerous!social!services!and! required!a!special!architectural!dignity,”!as!Etlin!explains,!Terragni!assigns!a!Rationalist! vocabulary!of!inventiveness,!dynamism,!and!asymmetry!not!solely!reconcilable!to! Fascism’s!progressivism!during!the!interwar!years. Admittedly,!the!Casa!del!Fascio! unfolds!in!its!designs!certain!direct!responses!to!the!Fascist!ideologies!it!represented. Constructed!as!una)casa)di)vetro!(a!house!of!glass),!Terragni’s!project!built!off!“Mussolini’s! concept!that!‘Fascism!is!a!house!of!glass!into!which!all!can!look’!. . . and!the!metaphorical! sense!of!this!phrase!points!to!the!merits!of!organicity,!clearness,!and!honesty!of! construction.”17!With!its!extensive!expanses!of!glass,!the!Casa!realized!an!idealized! relation!between!Fascist!leaders!and!the!Italian!people. The!battery!of!glazed!doors!that! lines!the!ground!floor!could!be!activated!to!open!simultaneously,!effectively!eliminating! the!barrier!between!the!Party!and!the!people!(image!7). The!internal!organization!of! spaces!around!a!public!courtyard,!together!with!the!loggias!of!the!front!façade!enabled! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 16!Qtd. in!Koulermos,!p.!85.! 17!Etlin,!p.!439T445.!

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Fascist!leaders!to!address!both!those!inside!and!outside!further!complementing!this! “antibureocratic”!dimension.18!! !

However,!in!his!particular!articulation!of!the!relationship!between!interior!and!

exterior,!Terragni!does!not!solely!answer!to!propagandistic!rhetoric. The!preconditions! dictated!by!Fascism!are!carefully!balanced!with!Rationalist!concerns,!whereby!the! building’s!abstract!geometrical!forms!contextually!react!to!the!surroundings. As!Curtis! explains,!the!polemics!of!Italian!architecture!between!the!wars!revolved!around!the! “problem!of!symbolic!representation,”!and!the!translation!of!Modernism!into!an!Italian! language.19!Rather!than!simplifying!national!tectonic!elements!–!the!response!embraced! by!the!decorative!Novecento!Italiano!and!by!Piacentini’s!monumentalism!–!Terragni! favored!contextualization!through!massing,!position,!and!a!response!to!architectural! character!rather!than!form. Building!on!a!site!facing!the!Duomo!of!Como,!Terragni! undertook!a!dialogue!with!the!symbolic!center!of!the!city. Through!the!Casa!he! regularized!of!the!area!surrounding!the!church. Both!side!apses!of!the!Duomo!were!faced! with!screen!wall!facades;!the!Teatro!Sociale!(image!8)!was!also!faced!with!a!projecting! portico. As!Etlin!explains,!“each!screen!wall!appeared!as!a!statement!of!a!different! constructive!principle!and!hence!of!a!different!age:!the!Greek!orders!and!their!later! Palladian!counterparts!as!colossal!columns,!the!Roman!piers!and!arches,!and!now!the! reinforced!frame!of!the!modern!concrete!construction.”20!As!the!Casa!unfolded!internally! as!a!public!space!that!reinforced!the!relation!between!Fascism!and!citizen,!Terragni! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 18!Ibid.!p.!445.! 19!Curtis,!p.!361.! 20!Etlin,!p.!468T470.!

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sought!to!similarly!transform!the!piazza,!developing!it!into!a!symbol!of!assembly!by! unifying!its!architectural!masses!through!the!rhythm!of!the!screen!walls!(images!8,!9). ! Rather!than!a!literal!translation!of!historic!forms,!the!Casa!remolded!its!contextual! elements!through!the!principles!of!Modernism. As!Zevi!explains,!Terragni!“accepts!the! pure!geometry!of!the!cubic!form,!but!he!doesn’t!envelop!it!with!surfaces!without! thickness.”21 The!adaptation!of!the!Modernist!canon!to!the!Italian!historical!context!is! epitomized!by!Terragni’s!“clear!and!categoric!refutation!of!Le!Corbusier’s!fifth!canon:!the! façade!libre.”22!While!Le!Corbusier!worked!through!a!dialectical!opposition!between!the! columnar!grid!and!the!wall,!Terragni!uses!the!structural!frame!itself!as!the!means!to! create!a!rigorous!gridded!space!responsive!to!the!surrounding!piazza. Thus,!Terragni’s! Casa!rests!in!an!ambiguous!relationship!between!its!Fascist!and!Modernist!influences. These!two!are!combined!through!Rationalism’s!progressivism!and!a!desire!to!reinvigorate! Italian!tradition. However,!certain!elements!of!Terragni’s!design!are!irreconcilable!to! either!influence. Many!elements!directly!connoted!with!Fascist!rhetoric!–!the!Littoria! tower,!a!speech!pulpit,!or!a!Roman!style!portico!–!are!rejected!in!favor!of!Rationalism’s! modern!vocabulary. Yet,!the!canons!of!the!international!style!–!particularly!that!of! Corbusier!–!are!also!transformed!in!response!to!the!existing!Italian!architectural!setting! that!Rationalism!sought!to!transform!rather!than!dismantle. The!Casa!del!Fascio! therefore!rests!in!the!careful!intertwining!of!historicism!and!modernity,!a!position!close! to!Fascism’s!progressivism!but!that!avoids!its!decadence!into!populist!vulgarization.! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 21!Zevi,!p.!189.! 22!Ibid.!

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Sandell!9! Image!1! Front!façade!as!seen!from!Piazza! del!Popolo! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Image!2! Aerial!view!of!front!façade!from! cupola!of!Duomo. Shows!the!axial! separation!of!third!(roof)!floor!by! the!inner!courtyard.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Image!3! Aerial!view!of!rear!façade,!the! Duomo!of!Como,!and!Piazza!del! Popolo.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

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Sandell!10! ! Image!4! Elevation!drawings!of!four! façades. Notice!in!the!front!and! back!elevation!the!void!formed!by! the!internal!courtyard!spanning! the!three!central!bays.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Image!5! Plans!of!the!four!floors.! Clockwise!from!top!right:!ground! floor,!1st!floor,!2nd!floor,!3rd!(roof)! floor.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Image!6! View!of!interior!courtyard!facing! towards!the!Duomo!and!Piazza! del!Popolo.! ! !

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! ! Image!7! View!from!interior!through!15! glazed!door!battery. Past!the! open!doors!lies!the!Duomo!and! Piazza!del!Popolo.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

! Image!8! View!from!the!Casa!del!Fascia!of! Piazza!del!Popolo. Flanking!the! Duomo!apses!are!the!two!screen! walls. The!massive!columns!to! the!left!are!those!of!the!Teatro! Sociale.! ! !

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Image!9! Plan!of!Piazza!del!Popolo!c.! a!Casa!del!Fascio! T!Teatro!Sociale! G)and!S!are!further!massing! proposals!by!Terragni.! ! !

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Sandell!12! Works!Cited:!

1.!Benedetti,!Mara!De,!and!Attilio!Pracchi. Antologia)Dell’architettura)Moderna:)Testi,) Manifesti,)Utopie. Bologna:!Zanichelli,!1988. Print.) 2.!Curtis,!William!J. R. Modern)Architecture)since)1900. 3rd!ed. London:!Phaidon,!1996. Print.! 3.!D'Amia,!Giovanna,!Giuseppe!Terragni,!and!Enzo!Pifferi. Giuseppe)Terragni:)Oltre)Il) Razionalismo/beyond)Rationalism. Como:!E. Pifferi,!2003. Print.! 4.!Etlin,!Richard!A. Modernism)in)Italian)Architecture:)1890J1940. Cambridge,!Mass.:!MIT! Press,!1991. Print.! 5.!Koulermos,!Panos,!and!James!Steele. 20th)Century)European)Rationalism. London:! Academy,!1995. Print.! 6.!Schumacher,!Thomas!L. Surface)&)Symbol:)Giuseppe)Terragni)and)the)Architecture)of) Italian)Rationalism. New!York:!Princeton!Architectural,!1991. Print.) 7.!Peckham,!Andrew. "The!Dichotomies!of!Rationalism!in!20thTCentury!Italian! Architecture."!Architectural)Design!77.5!(2007):!10T15. Print.! 8.!Zevi,!Bruno. Storia)Dell'architettura)Moderna. 5th!ed. Torino:!Einaudi,!1975. Print.! ! ! ! I!hereby!declare!that!I!am!handing!in!an!original!peace!of!work.! !

Andrea!Sandell!