REMAPPING ROMANO Mussolini’s marble maps represents the imperialistic ambitions of his regime in the most visual way possible. By mapping out the territorial extents of the Roman Empire, Mussolini projects his desire for the second coming of Rome - steeped in militaristic conquest and the supremacy of the Italian nation. Carefully sited along Via dell’Impero, now known as Via dei Fori Imperiali, Mussolini intended for the maps to act as a backdrop to his ceremonious celebrations of his rise to power during the March on Rome. Complemented by the grandeur of the Via dell’Impero and the statues of past Roman emperors, the maps undoubtedly serve to glorify Mussolini’s rule and leadership. Seventy-five years since the fall of Fascist Italy, some question why many of Mussolini’s monuments still scatter across the city of Rome. However, instead of demolishing or erasing them, history can be better preserved and narrated through the re-adaptation of these monuments. Arguably a contemporary example of globalization and modernization, the Metro Line C Extension represents Rome’s realizing of its global city status. Similar in symbolism to the grandeur of the Via dei Fori Imperiali, the metro station will now house the maps underground to acknowledge its role in the development of the city, while at the same time removing the maps from the pedestal that which the Via dei Fori Imperiali signifies and thereby diminishing its imperialistic connotations.
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Located in four different rooms across the four floors of the station, the maps will be deconstructed to form the surfaces of a step-like installation. The symbolic stepping on the maps quashes the colonialist ambitions of the Fascist regime. The number of steps on the flights of stairs connecting the four different floors of the station are carefully calculated to spatially represent the temporal relationship between each map, giving the user a subliminal journey through time. The black-towhite ratio of marble used to construct the stairs will hint at the territorial expanse of the Roman Empire, while subverting and neutralizing the racist overtones employed by Mussolini to ‘civilize the black continent.’ A solitary window frame looking out toward the Colosseum will stand in place of the fifth map - now hidden in storage at the Museum of Roman Civilization - to remind us not to look inward, but rather toward the future of an integrated and united Europe.
C O R N E L L U N I V E R S I T Y R O M E P R O G R A M : F O U N D AT I O N S I N A R C H I T E C T U R E , S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 / / I N S T R U C T O R : T E S S C L A N C Y
NAME: ADAM SHEHABUDDIN SITE: MUSSOLINI’S MARBLE MAPS REMAPPING ROMANO
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Site Photographs and drawings ( 1 ) F i r s t M a p , ‘ R O M A A I S U O I I N I Z I . S E C . V I I I A . C . ’ ( 2 ) F o u r t h M a p , ‘ L’ I M P E R O A L T E M P O D I T R A I A N O I M P. 9 8 - 1 1 7 D . C . ( 3 ) F i f t h M a p , ‘ F o n d a z i o n e d e l l ’ I m p e r o ’ ( 4 ) F i v e m a p s o n d i s p l a y o n t h e o u t e r w a l l o f t h e Basilica of Maxentius (5) Four maps on display viewed by a crowd of people along Via dei Fori Imperiali (6) Construction of Fori Imperiali Metro Station concealing the maps away from the public
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C O R N E L L U N I V E R S I T Y R O M E P R O G R A M : F O U N D AT I O N S I N A R C H I T E C T U R E , S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 / / I N S T R U C T O R : T E S S C L A N C Y
NAME: ADAM SHEHABUDDIN SITE: MUSSOLINI’S MARBLE MAPS REMAPPING ROMANO
IMPERIAL FRAGMENTS / FRAGMENTING THE IMPERIAL
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Site Plan 1:1000 S i t e P l a n o f V i a d e i F o r i I m p e r i a l i , t h e F o r i I m p e r i a l i S t a t i o n a l o n g M e t r o L i n e C E x t e n s i o n , a n d i t s s u rrounds.
C O R N E L L U N I V E R S I T Y R O M E P R O G R A M : F O U N D AT I O N S I N A R C H I T E C T U R E , S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 / / I N S T R U C T O R : T E S S C L A N C Y
NAME: ADAM SHEHABUDDIN SITE: MUSSOLINI’S MARBLE MAPS REMAPPING ROMANO
Diagrams of Maps (left) and diagrammatic drawing of stairs (right) Diagrammatic representations of maps and marble ratio composition of maps and stairs. PA G E 4
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C O R N E L L U N I V E R S I T Y R O M E P R O G R A M : F O U N D AT I O N S I N A R C H I T E C T U R E , S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 / / I N S T R U C T O R : T E S S C L A N C Y
NAME: ADAM SHEHABUDDIN SITE: MUSSOLINI’S MARBLE MAPS REMAPPING ROMANO
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Section 1:100 Section cut of the Fori Imperiali Metro Station
Plan 1:150 Plan view of different levels of the Fori Imperiali Metro Station
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C O R N E L L U N I V E R S I T Y R O M E P R O G R A M : F O U N D AT I O N S I N A R C H I T E C T U R E , S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 / / I N S T R U C T O R : T E S S C L A N C Y
NAME: ADAM SHEHABUDDIN SITE: MUSSOLINI’S MARBLE MAPS REMAPPING ROMANO
Exploded Axon Illustrated exploded axonometric view of the different levels of the Fori Imperiali Metro Station
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C O R N E L L U N I V E R S I T Y R O M E P R O G R A M : F O U N D AT I O N S I N A R C H I T E C T U R E , S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 / / I N S T R U C T O R : T E S S C L A N C Y
NAME: ADAM SHEHABUDDIN SITE: MUSSOLINI’S MARBLE MAPS REMAPPING ROMANO