The Casa del Fascio is a building located in Como

Como

Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy.It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como....

, northern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, a work of Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 rationalist

Rationalism (architecture)

The intellectual principles of rationalism are based on architectural theory. Vitruvius had already established in his work De Architectura that architecture is a science that can be comprehended rationally. This formulation was taken up and further developed in the architectural treatises of the...

 architect Giuseppe Terragni

Giuseppe Terragni

Giuseppe Terragni was an Italian architect who worked primarily under the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini and pioneered the Italian modern movement under the rubric of Rationalism...

.

Started in 1932 and completed in 1936 under the regime of Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....

, this municipal administration building was originally constructed with a primary view of functioning as an elegant "set piece" for mass Fascist rallies. Conceptualized as a classical palazzo

Palazzo

Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...

 centered on a glass atrium, it was frescoed with abstract paintings (since destroyed) by the artist Mario Radice

Mario Radice

Mario Radice was an Italian painter born in Como. He is considered to be an important Italian abstract artist.-Life and work:...

 and the original project boasted an innovative changing facade illumination. It is cited as a regional manifestation of the International Style

International style (architecture)

The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...

 of architecture.

The building housed the local headquarters of the Guardia di Finanza

Guardia di Finanza

The Guardia di Finanza is a Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. Like the Carabinieri, it is part of the Italian Armed Forces. The Guard is essentially responsible for dealing with financial crime and smuggling; it has also evolved into Italy's...

police force from 1955 to 1999. Currently it houses the historical museum of the Guardia di Finanza 6th legion.