The city of Sabaudia in the region of Lazio in Italy is one of the last city foundations in Europe. The small town with around 20,000 inhabitants was founded in 1933 during the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini after he had drained the Paludi Pontine, the marshland southeast of Rome.
Additional to Sabaudia cities like Littoria (now Latina), Pontinia, Aprilia and Pomezia were built according to urban city concepts in the mid to late 1930s.The architecture of the fascist ideal planned cities is a typical example of Italian rationalism, which is characterized by the reduction of architectural basic elements. Although these cities try to fit in harmoniously with the live nowadays, the ideological roots of the cities can still be felt.
During several stays in the region of Lazio, we documented the fascist and modern architecture of the planned cities built by Mussolini. Our photographs attempt to show the (in)visible history of Italian planned cities and range between the fascist Italy of the 1920s,1930s and today.