Having previously investigated the architecture of Hitler and Stalin's regimes, Jonathan Meades turns his attention to another notorious 20th-century European dictator, Mussolini. His travels take him to Rome, Milan, Genoa, the new town of Sabaudia and the vast military memorials of Redipuglia and Monte Grappa. When it comes to the buildings of the fascist era, Meades discovers a dictator who couldn't dictate, with Mussolini caught between the contending forces of modernism and a revivalism that harked back to ancient Rome. The result was a variety of styles that still influence architecture today. Along the way, Meades ponders on the nature of fascism, the influence of the Futurists, and Mussolini's love of a fancy uniform.
Writing
Meades' sentences are architectural marvels themselves
Cinematography
Fascist kitsch never looked this gorgeous
Direction
Hanly lets Meades roam like a brilliant madman
Director
Francis Hanly
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Meades' trilogy on dictator architecture (Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini) remains unmatched in television documentary — no presenter since has matched his lethal combination of learning and contempt.
The documentary reveals Mussolini's fatal architectural indecision: unlike Hitler's coherent megalomania or Stalin's wedding-cake gigantism, Il Duce couldn't choose between Marinetti's futurist speed and Caesar's marble eternity.
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