Rome’s Fascist Past: Private Walking Tour of Mussolini’s EUR District

Your half-day tour starts by meeting your guide and boarding a coach for the drive south of central Rome to the EUR district (Esposizione Universale di Roma). From your guide, learn about the origin of this area in the 1930s, when it was created as a city regeneration project under the direction of by Benito Mussolini, the fascist prime minister of Italy who called himself Il Duce (The Leader). Mussolini wanted to feature the district at the 1942 World’s Fair to celebrate 20 years of fascism in the country.

As you walk along the wide, symmetrical streets, your guide will point out the neoclassical architecture of that era and tell you about how the project was left incomplete when the World’s Fair was canceled after the start of World War II. Listen to stories about Rome in the 1930s and Mussolini’s notorious reign, and see the Square Colosseum (Colosseo Quadrato, known officially as Palazzo della Civilta del Lavoro), the EUR’s most prominent building with its white marble façade and rows of arches.

Outside the EUR, visit Foro Italico, originally known as Foro Mussolini (Mussolini Forum), a sports complex home to Stadio dei Marmi, a track surrounded by 60 marble statues. You’ll also see the Via dei Fori Imperiali, a road commissioned by Mussolini that connects the Rome Colosseum to Piazza Venezia.

Your tour ends after the drive back to central Rome.