Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana

Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, commonly called the Square Colosseum, is a six-storey monumental building in Rome’s EUR district, completed during the late 1930s and early 1940s. It is a prominent example of Italian Rationalist architecture and a landmark of the EUR masterplan.

Its most recognizable feature is the regular grid of rounded arches on all four facades - six tiers by nine bays per side - producing a cubic, repetitive elevation. The building has been adapted for offices and cultural use in recent decades and is a frequent subject of architectural study and photography.

The palace was commissioned for the planned Esposizione Universale Roma (EUR) during the Fascist period and built as part of that district’s construction between the late 1930s and early 1940s. After decades of varied use it was leased for commercial headquarters and renovated for modern office and exhibition needs.

The building stands in the EUR business and exhibition district, southwest of Rome’s historic centre, on avenues laid out as part of the original EUR masterplan.

• Arches count: Count the arches - each facade has six rows and nine columns of arches, giving 54 openings per face and 216 total arches around the cube-shaped building.
• Best viewing time: Located in the EUR district, it is visible from large approaches and plazas and is frequently photographed at dusk when the facade is illuminated.