Roma, Città Sportiva - Global Rome: Changing Faces of the Eternal City - page 144

candidate cities of berlin, milan, and london, even after the visit of international
olympic Committee founder and chief baron pierre de Coubertain, whose posi-
tivity was matched by King Victor emmanuel iii and the city mayor prospero
Colonna. others, however, held serious reservations. most notable were angelo
mosso, the turin Gymnastic society president and founder of modern italian
sport, and Giovanni Giolitti, the italian prime minister from 1903 to 1905. argu-
ing that the city's lack of preparation and incapacity to host such a large event
would result in international embarrassment, both opposed Rome's bid to host
the olympic Games. preparations continued unabated, all the same, and includ-
ed the adaptation of ancient Roman facilities such as the baths of Caracalla for
fencing and wrestling—offering both atmosphere and practicality—and the use
of the tiber for swimming events.
Rome's eventual withdrawal of its candidacy saw the tournament go to lon-
don, but plans to host the 1908 olympic Games had been closely related to the
city's modernization and the development of its new industrial zone in the south-
ern ostiense district. furthermore, it also contributed to the national recovery
from the fin-de-siècle crisis that had seen anarchists assassinate King umberto
i in 1900 and the explosion of a real-estate bubble that forced government in-
tervention to avoid a total collapse of the italian banking system. in terms of
olympic history, it was too early for the buzzword of legacy to enter the dis-
course, but regeneration and the opportunity to place Rome on the international
sporting map had unquestionably been major motivational factors behind the
capital's bid.
fascist Rome
local and international considerations also underpinned fascism's investment
in sport in 1930s italy. as the economy suffered under domestic and global eco-
nomic pressures, the construction of stadiums and sports facilities secured the
regime significant international prestige, provided work, and stimulated local
economies. while this alone could not fight recession and the Great Depression,
fascist italy rode the economic storm of the 1930s better than some countries did.
The self-declared heir of Roman glory, power, civil, and military strength,
fascist italy demanded equality with other states at the same time as it tried to
establish superiority, especially in the mediterranean region. Recognizing archi-
tecture's power to subtly persuade and its potential for political propaganda and
mass communication, Rome's archaeological and historic wealth was supple-
mented by a building campaign worthy of the new fascist “empire.” Claiming to
be modernist and revolutionary at the same time as it attempted to reconstruct
the glory of imperial Rome, the regime sought to legitimize its rule by linking
these two apparently incompatible influences.
with no “blueprint” of what constituted fascist architecture or art, by the
mid-1930s, romanità (Romanness) and modernism had been combined to form