The Infallible Sign of the Destiny”. Reflections on the Iconography of the Myth of the Foundation of Rome in the Art of the Fascist Era

The aim of this paper is to examine some pictorial and sculptural works in which the myth of the foundation of Rome was represented in the fascist era. This traditional iconographic theme was reinterpreted during the regime of Mussolini as demonstrated in many examples in monumental art such as the mural paintings by Romano Romanelli (1930) in Palazzo delle Corporazioni, Gerardo Dottori in the Aula Magna of the “Regia Università per Stranieri” in Perugia (1937), or the decorations of the buildings designed for the Rome Universal Exhibition in 1942 (also known as E42). The recurring theme, which had enjoyed great iconographic success is the figure of Romulus who traces the sulcus primigenius (the primordial furrow). In most cases, the figure of the founder is central in the composition, at times even isolated, in order tocreate a unique symbolic image included in the broader narration of the myth. This paper aims to investigate this subject using an innovative and comparative approach based on the research methodologies of classical archaeology and the history of art. It proposes to identify the ancient sources and the traditional iconographic motifs related to the act of the foundation by Romulus and to investigate the new meaning that they assumed in fascist Italy.