Mussolini Obelisk - Rome, Italy
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 41° 55.902 E 012° 27.539
33T E 289327 N 4645315
The only modern obelisk in Rome stands at the entrance to the Foro Italico, a 1930s sports complex built with the ill-fated 1940 Summer Olympics in mind.
Waymark Code: WM1901Z
Location: Lazio, Italy
Date Posted: 10/30/2023
Views: 2
The Foro Italico, which was named Foro Mussolini when originally built in the 1930s, was a sports and educational complex for training the Fascist youth of Italy. But it was also built with an eye on securing Rome as the host city for the 1940 Summer Olympic Games. Benito Mussolini, Prime Minister of Italy at that time, envisioned Italy as a kind of revitalized Roman Empire and himself as one of the Roman Emperors of old, fully deserving of monumental accolade. At the entrance to the new sports complex stands this 120 ft. tall obelisk inscribed MUSSOLINI DUX in large letters.
Designed by architect Constantino Constantini, the obelisk consists of several blocks of Carrara marble, the top part reportedly being the largest monolithic piece of marble ever extracted from the quarry. It was raised with great ceremony in 1932. With the outbreak of World War II, the 1940 Olympic Games never took place. Benito Mussolini was ousted as leader of Italy and fled north where he was eventually caught and executed rather unceremoniously. With the collapse of Fascism in Italy many tributes to Mussolini have been removed, but this obelisk still stands in its original location.
The stamp was part of a set of four, each with the same design, issued to commemorate the 1933 International University Games held in Turin, Italy. The design shows the Mussolini Obelisk and one of the 60 marble statues that surround the Stadio dei Marmi, both located at the Foro Italico which had been partially completed by that time. For some reason, the stamps show the lettering on the monument reading down rather than up.
Stamp Issuing Country: Italy
Date of Issue: 16-Aug-1933
Denomination: 1.25 l
Color: blue
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: Not listed
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