Fendi’s new headquarters in the Colosseo Quadrato

After 72 years, Rome’s Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, better known as the Colosseo Quadrato (square colosseum), has reopened its doors to host the headquarters of Fendi. The Roman fashion brand has transferred all its offices – from creativity to the fur workshop – to the Fascist-era building built by Giovanni Guerrini for the World Exhibition of 1942. The inauguration was held on 22 October with a live transmission of “Poesia di Luce”, the spectacular lighting installation conceived by artist and designer Mario Nanni. Architectural lighting illuminated the columns with increasing gradations and intensity to create a new perspective, while a deep red rising sun marked the passage of time by becoming white at noon. Until 7 March 2016, the Colosseo Quadrato will be open also to the public with the exhibition “Una Nuova Roma. L’Eur e il Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana” (A new Rome. The Eur and the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana) about the history of the monument.