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Latina

Description

Founded in 1932 with the name of Littoria, Latina was the first of four "new cities" built in the area during the Fascist regime after the drainage of the lands of the Agro-pontino. In the Old Ages the area was inhabited by the Volsci at first and then became part of the Roman Empire. After the Fall of the Roman dominion and the Barbaric invasions that destroyed all the drainage constructions built by the Romans, the area returned to be an unhealthy marshland that not even the Pontifical State was able to reclaim.

Inaugurated on December 18th 1932 after an important ceremony to which also Mussolini was present, Littoria was inhabited not only by people of the area but also by immigrants from Veneto, Friuli, Emilia and Abruzzo. In 1946, after the Second World War, the city was obliged, by the Allied Forces, to change its name its name into Latina, a strong sign of its snap with the past.

Badly damaged during the air raids, only a few buildings of the fascist era are still intact, typical expressions of Modern architecture.

The Town Hall (1932-1933) dominates the Piazza del Popolo and is based on the project of the architect Oriolo Frezzotti and features a two floor building with a portico on the higher floor and a central bell tower.

Inside a large garden area decorated with a bronze statue (Dafne 1923) of the artist E. Mayo, a donation made in 1933 by the Fascist Confederation of Employers and Workers.

The Palazzo della Questura (Police Headquarters 1934-1936), was built on a project of the architect Ernesto Caldarelli, whilst the Post Office building was a project of the famous architect Angiolo Mazzoni.

The Cathedral of San Marco faces onto the Piazza with the same name and was completed in 1933 and is a modern restyle of a Romanesque church. The façade features three tall arches divided by pillars that are wrapped with different materials to create a dual colour. On the sides four statues feature the Evangelists. At the top of the façade there is a triangle shape slab with the emblem of Pio XI.

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