Gustavo Giovannoni e la “Mostra del Restauro dei Monumenti nell’ Era Fascista”/ Gustavo Giovannoni and the “Exhibition of the Restoration of Monuments in the Fascist Era”

Abstract

The Exhibition of the Restoration of Monuments in the Fascist Era, set up in Trajan’s Market in 1938, is the last among the different initiatives promoted by Gustavo Giovannoni. The exhibition was a fundamental part of the Third National Conference on the History of Architecture since it aimed to show the Fascist regime’s actions in the field of architecture in the last sixteen years through drawings, models, publications and photos, underlining the conditions of the monumental heritage before and after restoration. A considerable number of documents were gathered from all over Italy and referred to monuments of all historic periods, without any distinction of relevance. We are able to identify the list of documentations presented to the Ministry of National Education, the ones actually shown and the criteria utilized for selecting the material to be exhibited, such as the dimensions of the drawings and photos. The main point of this report is to demonstrate the success of the exhibition and the role of the collaboration between Giovannoni and the Minister Giuseppe Bottai during the organization of the Exhibition.