OBSCURING MUSSOLINI’S MODERN ROME T h e i n t e r v e n t i o n , w i t h i t s o r g a n i c , t w i s t i n g f o r m , o b s c u r e s t h e M a r c o n i O b e l i s k , s u b v e r t i n g t h e o b e l i s k ’s p o w e r as the focal point of EUR and a symbolic center of a Modern Rome. In the decade leading up to World War II, Mussolini was quickly fashioning a new identity for his country—a new Italy that showcased Fascist modernity while simultaneously flaunting Rome’s imperial past. Mussolini became obsessed with imprinting his ideology on the Roman landscape through architecture. Perhaps the greatest example of this monumental architecture is EUR (Esposizione Universale di Roma), a new district southwest of Rome built for the 1942 World’s Fair. The site, with its imposing, rationalist buildings, projects an image of imperialism, growth, and excess. In many ways, EUR is the physical embodiment of the modern Roman Empire Mussolini was striving to build. At the center of the district (and the symbolic center of Mussolini’s modern Rome) sits a marble obelisk dedicated to Guglielmo Marconi, the Italian inventor of the radio and Fascist sympathizer. The obelisk serves as the focal point for all roads that converge on the central piazza. The purpose of the intervention is to obscure the obelisk, subverting its power as the central focus of the district.
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The design of the intervention, with its twisting, organic forms, has its foundations in nature, more specifically a natural phenomenon known as a solar pillar. The atmospheric spectacle produces an apparent column of light above a sunrise or sunset and is believed to be the inspiration for ancient Egyptian obelisks and their specific proportions. The height and two-degree vertical incline of the intervention conforms to the solar pillar’s natural proportions. The manner in which visitors move through the intervention, from east to west, also mimics the cycle of the sun. The east-to-west directionality of the intervention also counteracts the north-south axial symmetry of the site.
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: CHARLOTTE DOODY SITE: MARCONI OBELISK OBSCURING MUSSOLINI’S MODERN ROME
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Site photographs and drawings (1) Marconi Obelisk under construction (2) Completed Marconi Obelisk (3 and 4) Arial views of EUR (5 and 6) Buildings adjacent to Marconi Obelisk
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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: CHARLOTTE DOODY SITE: MARCONI OBELISK OBSCURING MUSSOLINI’S MODERN ROME
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Site Plan 1:1000 Site plan of EUR and timeline of Marconi Obelisk
IMPERIAL FRAGMENTS / FRAGMENTING THE IMPERIAL
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: CHARLOTTE DOODY SITE: MARCONI OBELISK OBSCURING MUSSOLINI’S MODERN ROME
Dimensions Diagram Diagram showing how the height and vertical slope of the intervention was derived
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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: CHARLOTTE DOODY SITE: MARCONI OBELISK OBSCURING MUSSOLINI’S MODERN ROME
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Drawing (1) Plan 1:100 Plan of intervention and surrounding site
Drawing (2) Section 1:100 Section through central, north-south axis
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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: CHARLOTTE DOODY SITE: MARCONI OBELISK OBSCURING MUSSOLINI’S MODERN ROME
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Diagrams 1:20 Diagrams demonstrating how visitors move through the intervention
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: CHARLOTTE DOODY SITE: MARCONI OBELISK OBSCURING MUSSOLINI’S MODERN ROME