Difficult Heritage : Fascist-Era Art and Architecture Out of its Time

Many urban projects realised during the Ventennio remain part of the Italian landscape and, together with architectural monuments and works of art, create a constellation of surviving images of Fascist visual culture in contemporary Italy. As part of the national cultural heritage these artefacts are protected by preservation laws. However, in the ambiguous process whereby Italy confronts its Fascist and colonial past, they have also become a nexus of critical debate and political struggle.

The volume focuses on the material history of Fascist-era works of art, monuments and architecture in Italy, and examines their afterlife and reception in the longue durée. Probing the theoretical concept of ‘difficult heritage’ in relation to the peculiarities of the Italian case, and in a comparative perspective with other nations, the volume addresses issues of restoration, display, and critical preservation of Fascist-era artefacts located in public and institutional spaces.

Texts by: Mia Fuller, Giuliana Pieri, Hannah Malone, Joshua Arthurs, Dell Upton, Liza Candidi and Davide Grasso, Franco Baldasso, Adachiara Zevi, Rosalia Vittorini, Lucy Maulsby, Pippo Ciorra, Luca Acquarelli, Alessandro Gallicchio.