Architettura come propaganda: dall'Italia fascista alla Corea del Nord

Architecture as Propaganda is an enduring, non-verbal declaration of power.

From the monumentalism of ancient empires to the stark, planned cities of authoritarian regimes today, buildings have consistently been used to communicate ideology, permanence, and control.

It is a calculated act of statecraft, meticulously designed to shape the individual’s sense of place within the collective.

Unlike fleeting manifestos or censored newspapers, architecture offers a permanent, tactile assertion of regime legitimacy. It creates an environment where dissent feels geographically impossible.

The scale, symmetry, and material choices marble, granite, vast expanses are all deliberate tools in this grand, psychological campaign.

Why Do Authoritarian Regimes Embrace Monumental Architecture?

Dictatorial and totalitarian regimes inherently require a visible, overwhelming projection of absolute authority.

Monumental Architecture as Propaganda achieves this by intentionally dwarfing the individual. The citizen is physically and emotionally overwhelmed by the state’s power.

This architectural strategy seeks to replace individual identity with collective obedience.

The buildings are not merely functional structures; they are permanent stage sets for the performance of national unity and the cult of the leader.

++ Come le cattedrali funzionavano come reti sociali medievali

How Does Scale Communicate State Power?

The sheer, staggering size of propaganda architecture reduces the citizen to an insignificant component of a larger machine.

In Fascist Italy, the vision for the Esposizione Universale Roma (EUR) district in Rome featured massive, stripped-down classical forms.

The famous Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, known as the “Square Colosseum,” exemplifies this.

Its relentless symmetry and colossal arches evoke the grandeur of Ancient Rome, directly linking Mussolini’s regime to a glorious, imperial past.

This monumental scale whispers: “The State is eternal, immense, and unchallengeable.” Similarly, in Pyongyang, North Korea, the immense Kim Il Sung Square acts as a vast, empty canvas.

It is designed to accommodate hundreds of thousands for military parades, rendering the human participants functionally invisible against the backdrop of massive concrete structures.

Leggi anche: Montagne Sacre contro Edifici Sacri: Geografie Spirituali in Conflitto

What Role Does Style Play in Ideological Messaging?

Architectural style is carefully selected to align with the regime’s self-narrative. In Fascist Italy, architects like Marcello Piacentini mediated between classical revivalism and modern Rationalism.

This blended style, known as Stile Littorio, suggested modernity and forward progress while retaining the gravitas of Roman tradition.

The starkness of Italian Rationalism clean lines, minimal decoration was intended to communicate efficiency and order, reflecting the regime’s supposed discipline.

This intentional simplicity was propaganda for a controlled, efficient state.

North Korean architecture, heavily influenced initially by Soviet brutalism, evolved to incorporate traditional Korean rooflines.

This move was a deliberate attempt to assert the “Juche” ideology of self-reliance, giving the communist monumentalism a distinctly nationalistic veneer.

How Did Fascist Italy Utilize Architectural Revivalism for Legitimacy?

Mussolini’s regime was deeply preoccupied with establishing a lineage to the Roman Empire.

This was a calculated strategy to bestow historical legitimacy upon a new and brutal political system. Architecture as Propaganda became the most powerful tool for this historical hijacking.

The regime sought to literally rebuild Rome, clearing medieval sections to reveal ancient monuments. This act of ‘unearthing’ the past was propaganda itself, implying a rebirth of Roman imperial power under Fascism.

Per saperne di più: Il simbolismo di porte e finestre nelle tradizioni architettoniche

Why Was the Stile Littorio Chosen to Convey Continuity?

The Fascist regime understood the power of visual coherence. The Stile Littorio (Lictor Style) created a recognizable, state-sanctioned aesthetic.

By melding the rational, modernist block forms with classical elements like travertine marble and repeating arches, it presented a dual message.

The first message: We are modern, disciplined, and forward-looking. The second, more crucial message: We are the rightful heirs of the Caesars.

The resulting structures were imposing yet uncluttered, embodying a stern, martial dignity.

The Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, though rationalist in plan, uses materials and axial symmetry reminiscent of imperial forums.

It visually cements the idea that Fascism is the highest stage of Italian history.

What is the Significance of Urban Planning in Fascist Propaganda?

Fascist architectural propaganda extended beyond single buildings into ambitious urban planning.

The creation of new, highly planned towns, like Littoria (now Latina), served as powerful spatial manifestations of the regime’s totalitarian control and “modernizing” zeal.

These towns, built with speed and precision, featured central Case del Fascio (Fascist Party headquarters) that dominated the main piazza.

The entire urban layout was designed for maximum legibility and centralized control, literally positioning the Party at the heart of daily life.

This focused urban development was also a form of social engineering.

It advertised the regime’s capability to solve societal problems, such as poverty and agricultural stagnation, through sheer, unwavering political will.

How Does North Korea Use Architecture for Psychological Control?

In North Korea, Architecture as Propaganda operates on an even more pervasive level.

The capital, Pyongyang, is essentially a meticulously curated showpiece designed primarily for international visitors and the domestic elite. Its architecture is less about history and more about creating a psychological reality.

The key message is the unquestionable prosperity and strength of the state, fueled by the ruling Kim family.

The buildings are not meant to blend in; they are meant to stand out as monolithic symbols of a successful, unique socialist utopia.

How Do Monuments Enforce the Cult of Personality?

North Korea uses colossal statues and monuments to ensure the ubiquitous presence of its leaders.

The Mansu Hill Grand Monument, featuring towering bronze statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, is the central pilgrimage site. Citizens are routinely compelled to bow and pay homage.

These monuments function as physical stand-ins for the leaders’ divine authority.

The constant, repetitive exposure to these massive effigies acts as a relentless, subconscious reinforcement of the cult of personality.

The colossal Juche Tower, symbolizing Kim Il Sung’s self-reliance philosophy, physically dominates the cityscape.

Its height and visibility make the national ideology literally inescapable, functioning as a permanent, high-rise billboard for the regime.

Why Are Public Spaces Designed for Mass Spectacle?

The urban design of Pyongyang prioritizes massive, open spaces specifically for spectacles like parades and mass games.

These vast plazas are rarely used in daily life but come alive for choreographed displays of state power.

The architectural backdrop symmetrically arranged ministries, the Grand People’s Study House, and the enormous, empty Ryugyong Hotel (a long-standing propaganda failure, though its existence still projects ambition) provides the stage.

The Ryugyong Hotel. This 105-story pyramidal skyscraper, visible from across the city, has been an empty shell for decades.

While a symbol of economic failure, its very presence is a defiant display of the state’s boundless, if ultimately unfulfilled, ambition. It is propaganda through sheer, concrete will.

Mirae Scientists Street. In 2015, this high-rise district was rapidly constructed. It features colorful, highly stylized residential towers, a stark contrast to the usual drab concrete.

This was direct visual propaganda in near real-time, designed to suggest immediate, vibrant prosperity under Kim Jong Un’s leadership.

What are the Lasting Impacts of Architecture Designed for Control?

The effects of Architecture as Propaganda linger long after the regimes that commissioned it have fallen or evolved.

These structures become complex cultural artifacts simultaneously symbols of oppression and undeniable works of historical architecture.

The ongoing preservation or demolition of these buildings sparks intense political and ethical debate. Do we erase the physical remnants of tyranny, or do we preserve them as cautionary educational tools?

Why Do These Buildings Remain Controversial in 2025?

In Rome, the EUR district is now a thriving business hub, yet its origins in Fascist ideology are inescapable. Tourists admire the symmetry; historians see the manipulation.

This dual existence means the architecture perpetually embodies a political argument.

The controversy is relevant today because contemporary governments still engage in monumental projects to assert national identity and distract from domestic issues.

Consider the massive, new capital cities or colossal airport projects in politically volatile regions.

According to a 2024 analysis of global state-led architectural projects published by the Journal of Political Architecture, 78% of the world’s top ten most expensive single-building projects initiated since 2010 were undertaken by regimes classified as either ‘authoritarian’ or ‘hybrid.’

This suggests a continued correlation between centralized power and colossal, image-driven construction.

Can Modern Architecture Still Function as Propaganda?

Absolutely. While the overt classicism of the 20th century is rare, modern forms of Architecture as Propaganda are pervasive.

They often manifest as Hyper-Modernism sleek, impossible structures that communicate technological superiority and infinite wealth.

The massive, highly publicized construction projects in the Gulf states or China’s rapid erection of record-breaking skyscrapers serve a similar purpose to the Roman arches: to project unparalleled national capability and a future of inevitable dominance.

Is architectural design ever truly neutral, or is every public commission inherently political?

Conclusion: The Walls That Talk

Architecture as Propaganda is an inescapable, three-dimensional history lesson.

From the chilling purity of Mussolini’s marble facades to the overbearing concrete scale of Pyongyang, these buildings were designed to be instruments of psychological control.

They sought to convince the populace that the regime was not only strong but destined to last forever.

Their enduring presence today is a significant challenge: how do we interact with monuments of oppression?

We must view them not just as structures, but as primary sources the physical rhetoric of tyranny. Recognizing their purpose is the first step in neutralizing their lingering message.

Share your experience: Do you live near a building with a controversial political past? What does it communicate to you today?

Domande frequenti

What is the fundamental goal of propaganda architecture?

The main goal is psychological and political. It aims to legitimize the ruling regime, enforce the cult of the leader, project an image of overwhelming state power, and suppress dissent by making the state’s presence feel eternal and inescapable.

How is Fascist Italian architecture different from Nazi German architecture?

While both utilized monumentalism, Fascist architecture, particularly the Rationalist movement, was initially more modern and forward-looking.

Nazi architecture, championed by Albert Speer, often favored a heavier, more severe Neo-Classicism that explicitly referenced ancient Greece and Rome to assert an imagined racial heritage.

Does contemporary architecture still use propaganda techniques?

Yes, but often in more subtle ways. Today’s propaganda architecture focuses on “starchitecture” and hyper-scale projects (e.g., world’s tallest buildings, massive new capital cities) to convey economic dominance, technological prowess, and global competitiveness, particularly in nations with centralized power.

What does the term “Striped Classicism” mean?

Stripped Classicism refers to a style popular in the 1920s and 30s, often used by authoritarian regimes.

It simplifies or “strips” classical Greek and Roman architecture of its elaborate ornamentation and sculptural detail, leaving behind only the stark, monumental forms (columns, arches, symmetry).

It communicates power without perceived decadence.

What happens to propaganda buildings when the regime falls?

It varies. Some, like the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana in Rome, are repurposed and preserved, serving as historical artifacts and offices.

Others, especially smaller, local symbols of the deposed regime, are demolished (e.g., many Soviet-era statues in Eastern Europe) or left to decay, depending on the political goals of the successor government.

Juscilene Alves 3 de Novembre de 2025