I thought I had knowledge about most of the monumental obelisks in Rome. However, I was driving with my host mom in her gray PT Cruiser to pick up her son (which by the way, traveling in a car in Rome is terrifying...perhaps I will take some video footage of the madness soon) and all of the sudden I saw an enormous obelisk in from of me with "MVSSOLINI" inscribed vertically in gigantic letters and "DVX" underneath, which is Latin for leader. I pulled out my phone quickly to snap a photo and had to explain that I was not a supporter of the fascist monument but that it was for research. In fact, there is not much information about this obelisk in English. What you are about to read describing this obelisk, I had to translate mostly from Italian. Also, strangely enough there is a Wikipedia page with quite a bit of information about this obelisk, but it is in German. Of course I used google translate, but it takes more knowledge than I have of German to realize what is really being said in many places.
Despite the difficulty, I managed to find some very interesting information about this obelisk. This obelisk is located in "Foro Italico" (originally entitled "Foro Mussolini"), a huge sport complex built during the fascist regime in Italy. This area was an important construction area for fascist ideals with the goal to host the Summer Olympic Games in 1940 and create a "master race".
The obelisk is made of Carrara marble (diameter of 3 meters, 36.5 meters tall including the base, weighing over 300 tons) and was transported from the Apuan Alps (a mountain range in northern Tuscany) with the aid of 60 oxen. "Lizzatura", a method of transport where wooden sled runners are placed underneath, was another method used to transport the marble down the mountain. It was the last major transport down the Tiber river. The marble arrived in Rome in 1932 and construction of the obelisk began. The project was very costly and took around 10,000 hours of intense labor. The inauguration occurred November 4, 1932 at 2:20 in the afternoon. The enormous crowd gave Mussolini thunderous applause (according to what I have read) and Mussolini stood to admire the obelisk.
When the fascist system in Italy was coming to a close, most imagery of fascism was eliminated. However, the engraving on this obelisk is about 5 cm deep and could not be erased. Therefore, it still stands today and you can read its inscription from at least half of a mile away. There are also mosaics in the square nearby that praise fascism and youth. One phrase translates to: "Duce, we give you our youth". There are also 60 monumental statues in this area, which were visible in the youtube video below. It was believed by most Italians that the top of the obelisk was made of pure gold. After the fall of fascism, some tried to climb the obelisk to confirm this belief. Unfortunately, it was finally discovered that the top was an illusion of glittery stones.
There is quite a bit of footage on youtube from the 1930s when the preparation and planning was taking place (all either silent or in Italian). You should check out the video below for visuals of what I have discussed. After speaking with some Italians that I have class with, I have been told that there are varying views of approval/disapproval that still exist in Italy today. After all, Mussolini was the only person ruthless enough to dig up ancient grounds in Rome for public transportation. I plan to speak with more Italians on these matters to get a better feel for how Italians view Mussolini. More to come :)
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