Politecnico di Milano

School of Architecture Urban Planning Construction Engineering

History of Contemporary Architecture

Beyond Rationalism in Architecture: Casa del Fascio

more than a Rationalist/Fascist Building
Haykaz Poghosyan

M.SC. in Architecture-Architectural Design

Prof. Federico Deambrosis

January, 2018
Abstract
The period between wars in Italy associated to the Fascism era in Italy, where Rationalism Architecture was
born. Terragni's Casa del Fascio which designed and build in this period is a contradictory building which
raises a lot of questions regarding the meaning and purpose of an architect and the building itself. Casa del
Fascio has different interpretations, readings, texts, and written facts about it. It is the least propagandistic
casa of all build ones looking through the building, its function and importantly in a period when it was build.
That was the reason that it makes this building so important, and not only in architectural point of view. It
can be argued that Terragni was trying to evolve his architecture less propagandistic way by analyzing Casa
del Fascio. Although the Terragni described as rationalist architect, rationalists were Fascists indeed, but if we
look to another perspective, if they were not in the party, is there any possibility of getting success in the
architectural field of that era? However, Modernism without regime could not exist in Italy, at least it did.
In this paper, we propose to identify and then examine three main characteristics of that time-period that can
make possible to have an understanding about Terragni's Casa del Fascio.
 The paper will briefly render out the historical context of Italian Rationalism, mostly concerning
important points and stress the role of context in Italian Rationalist Architecture.
 The period of architecture under the regime of fascism would be discussed with the analogy of the
journal Quadrante. In fact, the architectural difficulties and complexities in the Fascism period in
Italy was a precise measurement of the time for intellectuals working in this period.
 Terragni's Casa del Fascio will be the analogue of the discussion. It will not be an attempt to restore
the Rationalist architects experience as antifascist, however, the analysis of Casa del Fascio bring us
to another perspective.
Can someone talk about the most important building of Rationalism in Italy, but not mention Fascism? How
propaganda played a role of the building's composition? Is it a building of Fascism or just an office building?
What is the view about Terragni as an architect, is he a genius modernistic architect or just a servant of the
regime? These questions are the main concern while analyzing the Rationalist period in Italy and Casa del
Fascio in Como, and the answers are not simple, rather they are complex.
Keywords: Rationalism in Architecture, Giuseppe Terragni, Fascism, Casa del Fascio

Introduction
The period between World War I and World War II in Italy related to Fascism. This era was controversial
historical one, that brings a lot of questions about young architects who worked in the regime. Giuseppe
Terragni was one of them. The architectural situation in Italy in this period defined by a different group of
architects after the WWI. The most prominent ones where Accademici( neo-classicism) based on most
architecture schools, the moderates(Novecento) and Rationalists.
Rationalists were in favor of "new archaic age" with the mixture of modern machine civilization. How they
resolved the paradox of an avant-garde architecture that considered timeless, has never been properly
examined. Attempts were made by writers to categorize Italian Rationalism at face value, as it is an abstract
geometry with internal logic. Hence, Manfredo Tafuri states about work of Terragni as it is "undoubtedly
merged with an atmosphere between metaphysics and futurism"1 The logical conclusion here is that
architecture of abstraction is strange to historical and physical context, that it should be placed. In fact,
although many historians refuse to see Italian Rationalism as a movement that is connected with history and
the past, it did. It can be seen in many realized buildings the connection that is called "contextual"
architecture, among them Casa del Fascio in Como. Though the geometric form of buildings can be seen as
a universal one, however, they create a particular response to the history, site and traditions.

To see the whole picture in architecture of Terragni's Casa del Fascio, the historical context of rationalism,
political, socio-cultural time period will be taken into consideration. However, history tells us that architecture
was always in between artistic expression and external factors, such as politics, different styles, and
movements, Rationalist architects were not an exception in this case. The aim is not to change the notion of

1 Manfredo Tafuri, "The Subject and the Mask: An Introductionto Terragni," Lotu Intentatianal, 20 (1978)
1
belongings of different notions of architecture, but rather what was the role of an architect, as he sees his
architecture as a political art where people seemed tools or rather directed to people as human beings.
The conceptualization of space of Casa del Fascio with the relationship of Rationalist movement in
Architecture in Italy sheers a light of contradictive and not easily identifiable direction. However, it is
impossible not to mention the Fascist regime's importance of rearranging the cultural, more precisely
architectural state in the era.
In other words, the focus will be to explore the building and draw a connection between designing a space
and important factors about the period and understand the role of the building beyond Rationalist
architecture.

Historical Context of Italian Rationalism

Generally, the Italian Rationalism is difficult to ascribe to the modern history of Architecture, by which it
belongs. And this is not only for the reason of political situation, in which it was born. Rationalism
movement, can be seen as traditional and conservative, that was difficult to describe as an avant-garde, on the
other hand, it was so avantgardistic itself that was not appropriate to describe as a traditional one. This is the
reason that makes the roots of the movement so triggering for research and understanding the idea behind
Casa del Fascio in Como.

As from the beginning, Rationalism was more antitraditional and globally influenced movement, and only
later the traditional Italian context was understood as an important factor of the movement.2 However, K.
Frampton saw Rationalist architects interpreting the traditional architecture more than doing innovative
ones.3 Rationalists were the intellectuals who start considering these issues and later applied to their
architecture.

To look it deeply what was going on we can introduce "Gruppo 7" as an analogy of that period that was
consisted architects among them Giuseppe Terragni, which in their texts and essays published in La Rassegna
Italiana, spoke about the international process of art, criticizing the international in Italian architecture,
absence of traditional approach, and stated that " Between our past and our present there is no
contradiction", "Traditions are not vanishing but evolving".4 Their concern was not the creation of something
new for some ideology, but rather the transformation of what can be called traditional in the response of new
socio-cultural-political context.

The roots of the conception of antitraditional architecture, that does not respect the context( traditional,
cultural, physical, political, etc.) started in Italy of the beginning of 20th century in the circle of futurism. And
only later the role of mostly traditional context become valuable. After the World War I, the contemporary
movement in Italian architecture from the beginning sees the relationship between traditions and architecture
more as a transformation of already existing ideas behind already existing architecture. In other words, it was
the process that has the contextualized traditions.

The socio-political atmosphere had its sign to this period's architecture( mostly for Rationalism) and the
architect's point of views. This contradictive topic first should acknowledge the moral obstacles of architects
during the period. As Giulia Veronesi states "difficulties in politics of Italian architecture" should be taken as
individual's ethical questions. The architects, who try to make a new kind of architecture based on European
culture, had to take into consideration unavoidable political state. The reason behind Fascist avant-garde,
Rationalism especially, is the impossible phenomena of an honest representation of moral and social work.5

2 Architettura nella citta italiane del. XX secolo; dagli anni Venti agli anni Ottanta./ A cura di V. Franchetti Pardo.
Roma, 2003.
3 Frampton K. Modern Architecture: A Critical History. London, 1980.
4 Gruppo 7. Architettura I.// La Rassegna italiana, 1926, dicembre. Cit. in: "Quadrante", 1935, n. 23. p. 22-24.
5 Giulia Veronesi. Difficoltà politiche dell’architettura in Italia, 1920-1940. Christian Marinotti Edizioni. 2008. Milan. p.9
2
In contrast, same political party pushed intellectuals into a bunch of approaches in architecture and make
Rationalism into academic rules.6 Therefore the final architecture becomes not a linear outcome of thoughts
and styles but rather lack basic freedom in it. Hence, it is important to state that rationalist buildings
associated more with their inner ideology rather of their formal expression. Doing so, a new society should
break their obsolete social systems and should be based on a new human sensitivity. The idea behind this new
point of view was to create a society based on a shared moral value.

This kind of cultural background makes intellectuals to be more strong social responsibility. Architects
acquired important social role that is directed toward society to contribute, produce and reflect their ideas
toward public.

In fascist Italy, a difference can be seen as some architects intention of creating fascist scenography, and
Rationalist, as Terragni who worked in the Fascist regime, engaged in making building environment with
social function.7 It can be seen In Ettore Sottsass's autobiography, who with his father concerned about the
perception of Rationalist movement:

" My concern always was to be able to create houses, that are honest and comfortable with a client who wants
a house. And I think my fathers, Terragni's and Libera's problem also was that and one of the other architects
who worked for fascists."8

Intellectual architect's concern was to create architecture that is toward humanity, towards the universal, that
does not belong to the regime(as it is dictating and not giving possibility to choose). How then is it possible
that Terragni with infilled of such a sensitivity, was a servant of Fascist? Moreover, Rationalist architecture
amongst others was promised to transform the political movement into a cultural revolution.

In the works of architects who followed these conceptions(traditions-history-context) in their design

processes, practice and theory were merged together in order to create an architecture. In this principle
designing the space including history become the way of imagining architecture, as it was not a mechanical
process, but rather passionate understanding what can be basis of their design principles. In its specific
interpretation of the new architecture is obvious in the works of Giuseppe Terragni. In his projects, he
metaphorically interpreted historical planning surrounded the project taking references of proportions of
surrounded important buildings, and in this way, he contextualized his projects, and not only from outside
but also inside. As Richard Etlin wrote " The works of Rationalists... are the projects with contexts in the
wider sense: Italian in their character, they merge culture, history of the building and responding the specific
surrounding, so if to take the building from its place, even in the same city, is the destruction of their
meaning."9

The context is becoming one of the most important aspects of Rationalist architecture in Italy. The building
is becoming the continuation of the development and the part of the city. Rationalism reduces any historical
style in the concept of composition of space. In this basement is rationalism existed. Rationalism tries of
understanding the context as a necessary and positive thing. The idea of "clear forms" is spreading not only
for the new architecture but also for the background itself and finds its own interpretation of the past.

6 ibid.
7 Giulia Veronesi. Difficoltà politiche dell’architettura in Italia, 1920-1940. Christian Marinotti Edizioni. 2008. Milan. p.15
8 Ettore Sottsass. Scritto di notte. Adelphi. 2010. Milan. p. 154
9 Etlin R. A. Modernism in Italian Architecture. Op. cit.,p. 255.

3
Architecture of Fascist Italy
“The architect represents neither a Dionysian nor an Apollinian condition: here it is the mighty act of will, the will which moves
mountains, the intoxication of the strong will, which demands artistic expression. The most powerful men have always inspired
the architects; the architect has always been influenced by power.”

Friedrich Nietzsche

There was a debate over the issue of the architectural, artistic, cultural milieu in the fascist period in Italy. The
most important point is what should be identified as the fascist State, or Mussolini or the National Fascist
Party, there were no any guidelines or statements what is fascist in architecture.10 Also, it is possible to state
that in the time of fascist period - how to make a distinction of what is not fascist from what is. Hence, it is
difficult to state what was the orientation in architecture in Fascist Italy. However, Mussolini's rhetoric and
vague statements about architecture directed toward supported modern architecture. Riccardo Mariani
studied Fascist new towns, and he stated in his debates over architecture and urbanism policies in Mussolini's
period:

"Mussolini had never defined what can contain the formulation of ideological system in a rational way"11
Moreover, another historian, A.J.P.Taylor, who studied this period stated: "Mussolini was a dictator, that
never dictate"12

Understanding deeply the reasons of Rationalist architects especially Giuseppe Terragni's work (Casa del
Fascio) cannot be done without analyzing the relationship between modern architecture and politics in Italy
during Mussolini's regime (1922-43).

The journal Quadrate was the cultural journal which was the attempt of transforming architecture in fascist
Italy. The discussions in the journal mainly focused on the architecture and how suitable it is for "fascist
architecture". As David Rifking suggests us Quadrante supported by the prominent architects of Rationalism
and moved it toward a new architecture in interwar Italy.13 Quadrante circle was the most prominent
supporter of the regime in Italy. Obviously, the attempt is not only the propaganda of political regime but
also it introduced the Fascist state's ambitions of reshaping all the aspects of social life. It was Rationalism
that has supporters by politics, provided official support by the state for modern architecture, that nowhere in
that period happened such thing.

10 Dennis P. Doordan. Building modern Italy : Italian architecture, 1914-1936. Princeton Architectural Press. 1988. p.120
11 Riccardo Mariani. Fascismo e “città nuove”. Milan, 1976. p.126
12 Dennis Mack Smith, Mussolini’s Roman Empire, Penguin Books 1976.
13 On the history of Quadrante, see: Rifkind, David. The Battle for Modernism: Quadrante and the Politicization of Architectural
Discourse in Fascist Italy. Vicenza and Venice: Centro Internazionale di Architettura di Andrea Palladio and Marsilio Editori, 2012.
4
 Figure1. Quadrante, 35-36, cover (1936)

To stress the ambitions of architects and other individuals attempts of giving importance to the regime in
Italy we can look how Pietro Maria Bardi began to make exhibitions outside of Italy to make more popular it
among others, especially among Italian emigrants outside of Italy. There were a lot of attempts to make it
more propagandistic in an international domain. The exhibited works included the Rationalist architecture
mainly designed by the members of Quadrante, including Giuseppe Terragni's works. The state recognized
the works of Rationalists as a language between their own ideology and the possible implementation it into
the public.

The works of early period's Rationalist architects have clearly presented the modern architecture as a formal
representation of the regime. Rationalism from the beginning merged, innovative technological aspects of the
buildings, that was an attempt to show the industrial progress. In the early works of Terragni and other
Rationalist architects attempt seemed to reinforce the architecture with the political regime, as architecture
become a tool for the state's desire of seeing social life in all scales of metropolis, notion and region. It is
notable that Quadrante published the work of Terragni's Casa del Fascio, where Terragni stated that " fascism
must be a glass house into which everyone can see".

However, there were a lot of intellectuals who even sacrificed themselves because of their different opinions
of the regime. All in all, it is unmeaningful to avoid the name Fascist of everything in Fascism. Hence, the
debate should be based on the ideology behind the regime, more precisely the expression of bourgeois
pleasures; and contrasting thinking of intellectuals who fight against the policy.

Terragni's Casa del Fascio in Como was an emblematic work that provides an architectural text and language
to the regime. In the pages of Quadrante, Terragni justifies and provide the explanation and ideas of the
architectural solution deriving from Fascist ideology. Further, he states that "the Party Statue is the best way
to understand the composition and arrangement of the building".14 However, later the paper will state the
importance of the architect Terragni's work Casa del Fascio, as not easily identifiable as a fascist building or
rather a Rationalistic one.

14 Giuseppe Terragni. La costruzione della Casa del Fascio di Como in Quadrante, 35-36, October 1936. p.5
5
Terragni's Casa del Fascio in Como
It is hardly news that some modern architectural adventures have been associated with undemocratic or even totalitarian historical
moments--think of an architect like Giuseppe Terragni, who served Italy's Fascist regime.
Alexander Apostol: La Capella

It can be argued that the political slogan, the Mussolinian concept is that Fascism, a glass house in which everything can
peer,15 was the starting point of Terragni's Casa del Fascio. In other words, taking the concept of political
ideology materialized into architecture is a great work of ruled transparency. It is achieved by the physical
appearance of the building, or rather it was just the way of convincing what it was meant in reality. For
instance, the main facade of the building is a health cube with geometrical order allows a direct view of the
Brunete hill rising back of it.16 The plan made in a way that the piazza outside and the main hall connected
through opening the doors. So, this important way of designing was based on the interest of the parties in
"forming and politicizing" the people.17 However, it was an issue wheatear it was the mind of the architect or
it was just the fake interpretation of it.

Overall, the plan of the project is square, inspired by Corbusier, Terragni used roof garden inside the cube
and used also a golden ratio of forming facades and composition of elements. On the other hand, in contrast
to regimes favor of Classicism, he rejected to go back of it and used modern language to express his ideas.
Terragni wrote: " We usually make a mistake of doing facades based on classical traditions in order to make
buildings look new, but not too much... and functional, and Italian!"18 In opposition, also Terragni agreed that
the Rationalist view was to make modernity a consistent one, and not something divergent from the classical
one, without ornaments.19 "Rationalist architecture as a modern one values the ideas of classics, the rhythm,
order, harmony."20 However, as it is demonstrated from a lot of scholars, Terragni as a rationalist architect
cannot be defined, and this is because he has classical values mixed with modern more precisely Corbusian
one. As Mario Radice's stated Terragni's architecture is "hath classical" and "halth Corbusian".21 However,
Terragni as it is proved in his architecture refused Le Corbusier's last fifth point as la facade libre.22 He created
his own architecture which is at the same time combined with the movements and concepts of different
movements in architecture, culture and politics.

15 Giuseppe Terragni. La costruzione della Casa del Fascio di Como in Quadrante, 35-36, October 1936. p.6
16 Dennis P. Doordan. Building modern Italy : Italian architecture, 1914-1936. Princeton Architectural Press. 19
17 David Rifkin. The battle for modernism. Quadrante and the politicization of the architectural discourse in Fascist Italy. Marsilio.
2011. p.174
18 Giulia Veronesi. Difficoltà politiche dell’architettura in Italia, 1920-1940. Christian Marinotti Edizioni. 2008. Milan. p.84
19 David Rifkin, The battle for modernism. Quadrante and the politicization of the architectural discourse in Fascist Italy, Marsilio,
2011,p.183
20 Ibid., p.174
21 Ibid.,, p.183
22 Bruno Zevi, Storia dell’architettura moderna, Einaudi, 2014. p.189

6
 Figure 2: Casa del Fascio, view from Duomo di Como, 2017 June (photo by H. Poghosyan)

It is not difficult to understand why Terragni wrote about Casa del Fascio more of favor in Fascism ideology
rather describing it as it was. Obviously the architect who wanted to work under the regime should "accept"
the requirements of it. It can be seen through the texts of Terragni's writings about the Casa del Fascio in
Como:23 And we can see further that what he has done and what he wrote about are contradicting each other
making his architecture more complex.

The theme is new: any reference to buildings or a representative character is impossible; we must build on new foundations and
not forget that Fascism is an absolutely original occurrence...

I decided to use the entire allotted space because of the plan's demands. This gives rise to increased problems with natural lighting
etc...

The plan was a Mussolinian concept that " Fascism is a house of glass into which all may look", so it leads no barrier no
obstacle between people and leaders...

It is the memory of the fallen...

The style, the tendency, and the impression of the architecture will be the natural consequence and the spiritual translation of these
political and social premises...

The city plan has its Roman origin, decumanus- on a south- southeast, west- northwest axis and the cardo on the opposite north-
northeast, west-southeast axis. Because these urban premises , the orientation of the Casa del Fascio is site on an east-northeast,
west southwest axis...

It can be concluded by the writings that Terragni committed his architecture to Fascism ideology, justifying
the design as it is based on the ideology of the regime, and stated that his architecture is Fascist? However, in

23Taken from the text written by Giuseppe Terragni about Casa del, Fascio Quadrante 35-36( 1936), "La construzione della Casa del
Fascio di Como"

7
what he wrote and he has done makes a contradiction. Particularly, understanding the composition of a
building and its meaningful design which is done without importantly using the similar approach as it was
done in almost all another casa del fascios' across Italy. It will be explored such contradiction from analyzing
the Casa del Fascio's architecture.

Re-Reading the Architecture of Casa del Fascio

It is difficult to understand the role of Casa del Fascio without examining its architectural composition and
design principles. Is it a response to a ascism ruling system or a rational building, or it stands out of the
classification?
The building was impressive in its embedded roots of the culture of Italy which reaches to the renaissance
and even to the Roman period. Franco Purini suggests us that "Casa del Fascio was a metaphor for the
Roman compound, in its own isolation, Como courtyard house". Cesare Seta called it Renaissance palace with
concrete and glass. The building merged historical background of the discipline of architecture. Hence, it is
obvious that it cannot be simply identified as the building that made for regime's ideology, in the very basic
sense that fascism was not evolved as a process of a ruling system but it was absolute phenomena, where we
see that Casa del Fascio was a process of keeping traditions which came from past.
The building Casa del Fascio can be seen as a displacement of its own architecture from the historical
condition. Although, architecture is impossible to cut from its historicity, also cannot be ahistorical. It can be
said that Casa del Fascio was restorative on its own. As any building can be judged by its time it made, Casa
del Facio was an attempt to bridge the gap between factious history from the Fascist state of Mussolini to
Roman Empire.
Terragni utilizes the typology of the town hall and the Renaissance palazzo, he tried to reinforce the
relationship between historical archetypes and Fascism and to disengage the work from them. The Casa del
Fascio generated by the types employed through a variety of representational, conceptual, and spatial
strategies. For example, Terragni eliminated the Fascist torre littoria, which, like the traditional bell tower was
a must for all Casa del Fascios in Italy. Hence, it is obvious that Terragni didn't make just a building for
fascism, as the building is not simply the outcome of the needs and requirements of the system. Therefore, it
is obviously different from all the buildings made for the ruling system even in its formal expressions.

When the Casa del Fascio was build, it was largely considered as a successful artefact of modernist
architecture, and Terragni's aim was seen as the creation of new modern architecture embedded with Fascist
practice by many authors. Here comes a question, if it was so, then why he rejected to make the building as
"required" by the system. However, as Eisenman argues, Casa del Fascio resists contradiction, as it cannot be
identified as either Fascist or Rationalist and is difficult to categorize as such.24

24Eisenman, Peter. Giuseppe Terragni: Transformations, Decompositions, Critiques. New York: The Monacelli Press
Inc., 2003. Print.
8
Figure 3: Casa del Fascio, Como Italy, Giuseppe Terragni, 1933-1936, Montage by P. Eisenman

Following part will discuss the main aspects of the project of Casa del Fascio: context; typology; space, as
important compositional elements of the architecture.

Context of Casa del Fascio

Context, as it was already discussed, became one of the important aspects for Rationalist architects practicing
architecture, and it was an inseparable part while Terragni designed Casa del Fascio. It's open interior space
four levels and the front courtyard areas are meant to function as public gathering spaces for the people of
the city, hence the place designed towards public. In fact, any "Casa del Fascio" was the only building of the
Fascist state in any centre of a community, therefore the overall structure was given an important symbolic
interpretation. Paul Rudolph suggests one of the determinants of architectural form is the “peculiar
psychological demands of the space,” and that “such necessities are met primarily through the manipulation
of space and the use of symbols”. The spaces in the Casa del Fascio derives from a public to private, and each
room was organized in a reasonable way. Context-whether political, social, physical, or architectural cannot
simply be defined by the work itself. Casa del Fascio was behind of representation of the building for the
party, but more it is made for the public, giving an important role to the context of not only to the physical
surrounding but also for the history and traditions. To look at this work only considering political context or
to consider as a Rationalism is to blind the critical differences between his work and other works that fit into
these categories easily. Therefore, it is difficult to categorize Casa del Fascio as Fascist or Rationalist in
conception.

Typology/ town hall/palazzo

Typology for Terragni has importance not only to understand the composition of the building, but more
importantly drew a line between history and present. Casa del Fascio based on the use of many typologies and
was interpreted by different authors. Overall, the Casa del Fascio was supposed to be the centre of political

9
life for the Fascist populace, and of a social place, therefore town hall become important typology for them.
The architecture seemed to make the bond between the past of Italy and the present regime. In a sense, it
becomes a monument to Fascism and a pride for the nation. Terragni used the typology of the palazzo,
making references of Italian architects such as Palladio in order to connect the Fascists to a glorious past.
However, as Eisenman argues, finally the Casa “simultaneously reinforces historical archetypes and Fascism
and to separate the work from them”25. So, Casa del Fascio is a unique architectural work, which has both
classicism and modernism embedded in it but cannot be defined by either. He does this in part by going
beyond a simple representation or updating of the inherited configuration of the palazzo type; instead, he
uses this type to initiate processes that intend neither to justify the traditional type or to rework the type
within the parameters of that typology.

Figure 4: Palladio's Villa Pisani as a reference for Terragni

25Peter D. Eisenman, From Object to Relationship II: Casa Giuliani Frigerio: Giuseppe Terragni Casa del Fascio,
Perspecta 13/14, 1971 37-65
10
 Figure 5: Analysis of space of Casa del Fascio, through void and solid distribution

Space, spatial implementations of plan and facade

Casa del Fascio, from the compositional point of view, can be read as a void or a solid as many architects
among them Eisenman suggests. The overall model is a half-cube, and this volume can be interpreted as
either solid, letting interior spaces to represent subtraction; or void, letting them represent addition. The
outcome of these interpretation is transformation of a cubes-as spaces into three-dimensional volume.

The four facades deliberately made in a different and asymmetrical way, that give dynamism to the building.
In this way the facades respond to the context, and rejected the idea of static facades. Terragni made a
endeavor to interpret the political and social premises by transformation of the construction itself. Here we
see also the contradiction as his attempt was in contrast to the idea of monumentalism, as the requirenment
of the regime: overall making the facade open from the outside to inside, and making stronger in the corners
by closing with the solid materials. As by doing so, he tried to strengthen the feeling of three dimentional
space, which is not the outcome of the "design of the space", but also respond to the context. The plan and
the facade carried out in a passionate way of studying the contents and the function, by refusing to use the
traditional plans, that were preferred: plan and facade of the building solved in an asymmetrical way. This
solution lead to the requirement of the interior to have different spaces and functions. As, such an
arrangement of not symmetrical solution meant that "the building strengthen the role of functionalism,
directing public circulation into the inside and the to the vertical communications(stairs, elevators, etc.)"26

As Eisenman suggests us the plan become "single instances of perception", which suggests a new relationship
between time and experience 27. The plans (which was important for modern architecture by finding the
concept of a building) of the Casa del Fascio connects the history to their time and transforms typologies
such as Renaissance palazzo. However, the movement of arrangements within these plans are different from
the past. The central courtyard became the place for the public, as there is no anymore the sequence of
spaces.

26 Giuseppe Terragni, La costruzione della Casa del Fascio di Como in Quadrante, 35-36, October 1936. p.15
27 Ibid., 115
11
Facade was important for the Fascism, as it was representational for their ideology, stressing the role of the
"important" political views. The asymmetrical facades acting as the united homogeneous form as looking it in
the context of the city Como. On the other hand, it is represented as parts which fit with the plan, and parts
that are representational. As such transformations within plan and the facade of Casa del Fascio stress the
importance of the architect of acting out of Rationalism and more importantly becoming independent from
the regime.

Conclusion

This study analyzed the importance and contradictive character of Casa del Fascio, examining the period's
socio-political complexities. Terragni's Casa del Fascio, however, from the first side could be seen as a
Rationalist building made during the Fascism period. However, the historical context, the political situation in
Italy, and the role of intellectual within these processes bring the architectural perception of Casa del Fascio
to another perspective, where understanding the question "why" cannot be done skipping the complex
problems of the time-period, where the architects worked. And these conceptions reinforced by looking to
the architectural analysis of the building.

So, as if we transform the ideas of architecture into a language, where ground form in which it accepts; that is,
language is not something that is invented, but it is transformed. From the philosophical point of view, as
Martin Heidegger defines the idea of building as "let it dwell". The essential process of raising locals is by
connecting the spaces.28 Then he continues that we must build when it is possible to dwell. The Terragni's
building Casa del Fascio designed to provide a dwelling place for the public as it was described by the
analyzing its architectural composition. As J. Macgregor Wise states" Home is the place that we are, and not
the one that we are going to be"29. Therefore, if it is a building that meant to be control system by a party, it
cannot be for a public. That is to say, Terragni went out of the ruling system and make his architecture for a
"dwelling" which is therefore difficult to ascribe to any movement and ideologies, he made an architecture
which was affected by different ideologies, but never become a tool for them. The logical conclusion,
therefore, is that architect Terragni makes the architecture and not become an architect for the regime.
Moreover, he used the regime in order to create his own architecture.

28 Heidegger, Martin. “Building, Dwelling, Thinking,” in D.F. Krell, Ed. Martin Heidegger Basic Writings, 1992, 344-363.
Print.
29 Ibid., 297

12
Bibliography

Books:
Architettura nella citta italiane del. XX secolo; dagli anni Venti agli anni Ottanta./ A cura di V. Franchetti
Pardo. Roma, 2003

 Source describes mainly the urban transformations from 20's to 80's century in Italy. As Important the description of
understanding the value of context in Rationalist architect's works.

Frampton K. Modern Architecture: A Critical History. London, 1980

 Source is making analysis of 20's century architecture, where Rationalism architecture and importantly Terragni as an
important architect were described.

Giulia Veronesi. Difficoltà politiche dell’architettura in Italia, 1920-1940. Christian Marinotti Edizioni. 2008

 Sourse is analysing the architectural situation in Fascist italy and introducing that not everything was fascist in fascist
Italy. Important figures, among them Terragni was the centre of discussions.

Ettore Sottsass. Scritto di notte. Adelphi. Milan, 2010

Etlin, Richard A. Modernism in Italian Architecture 1890-1940. Cambdrige, Massachusetts, USA, 1991

 Source describing the modern architecture in Italy, the changes of the development considering the prominent figures, and
how architects were in dilemma of merging international style with traditional one. The final section of the book
describes how different ideas were transformed during Fascist period, examining Giuseppe Terragni's works among
them Casa del Fascio.

Dennis P. Doordan. Building modern Italy : Italian architecture, 1914-1936. Princeton Architectural Press. 1988

 Source presenting the architectural condition in Italy during 1914-1936.

Riccardo Mariani. Fascismo e “città nuove”. Milan, 1976

 Source describing the creation of "new cities" by Mussolini to conduct an experiment which is in contrast to Soviet
Union, such as giving the land to the peasants, who came from war. Importantly the presentation of creating new fascist
, anti-urban, devoted the regime to whom people belong.

Dennis Mack Smith, Mussolini’s Roman Empire, Penguin Books, 1977

 Source describing Mussolini's path from Rome to the imperia and final doom. Importantly, presenting the historical
condition of the period.

David Rifkin, The battle for modernism. Quadrante and the politicization of the architectural discourse in
Fascist Italy, Marsilio, 2011

 Source gives the insight in between wars period, focusing modernism in architecture.

Bruno Zevi. Storia dell’architettura moderna, Einaudi, 2014

 Source importantly describing the importance of architecture and historiography, describing the new elements of modern
architecture from the history of the disciplin.
13
Eisenman, Peter. Giuseppe Terragni: Transformations, Decompositions, Critiques. New York: The Monacelli
Press Inc., 2003

 Source presenting the re-writing and re-reading of two of Terragni's buildings, among them was casa del Fascio.
Importantly, it presents different explanation of the already described projects and finally defining the idea of
architecture critical, as the buildings suggests.

Lefebvre, Henri, The Production of Space, Wiley, 1992

Heidegger, Martin. “Building, Dwelling, Thinking,” in D.F. Krell, Ed. Martin Heidegger Basic Writings, 1992

Journals, articles:

Giuseppe Terragni. La costruzione della Casa del Fascio di Como in Quadrante, 1936

 Source was the cultural journal published three years and served as the "supporter of the state". It was the discussions
mainly pointed the architecture and support its suitability of "fascist architecture". In the date of 35-36, October
1936, Terragni described the construction of Casa del Fascio.

Manfredo Tafuri, "The Subject and the Mask: An Introduction to Terragni," Lotu Intentatianal, 1978

Peter D. Eisenman, From Object to Relationship II: Casa Giuliani Frigerio: Giuseppe Terragni Casa del
Fascio, Perspecta 13/14, 1971

14