It's just one photo--and not our own--but it tells a story. The photo is of the entrance to the Casa della GIL (House of the Italian Fascist Youth), a stunning modernist structure designed by Luigi Moretti and constructed between 1933 and 1936. It is now most often referred to as the ex-GIL.
When I first saw the photo, I assumed it was a period pic, though color photography was in its infancy in the 1930s. My assumption was that "Rome for the Romani" was, even decades ago, a Fascist slogan. Moreover, the photo shows large, highly stylized metal eagles above the entrance to the building--one of Mussolini-era Fascism's potent symbols--and Dianne and I, having observed the building for about 20 years, had never seen those eagles. So I assumed they were part of the original structure (which they may have been) and, therefore, that the photo was vintage.
Wrong. The photo was taken in April, 2017, when the building--the ex-GIL--was briefly occupied by Forza Nuova, a militant, anti-immigrant, homophobic far-right political party founded in 1997. CasaPound, a neo-Fascist organization with affiliates in dozens of Italian cities, including Rome, was also involved in the occupation.
Looking more closely at the photo, the smaller flags say FN and "Forza Nuova." According to Forza Nuova (and the press), the building's elaborate and expensive reconstruction was completed (except, perhaps for those eagles) in 2015, yet the building remained empty. The occupation was designed to make that point, and to immediately turn the structure into a shelter for the homeless--unless, of course, they were immigrants, socialists, or gay.
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| The ex-GIL as it looked in 2012, when it was open briefly for an art exhibition. |
And that's the story.
Bill
The ex-GIL is located in Trastevere, on Largo Ascianghi, between viale di Trastevere and the Tiber River. It came in at #10 in RST's Top 40.
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