Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-19
ROME HOUSING PROGRAM
TO CARE FOR 2 MILLION
Transformed City to Rise Above Ancient
Ruins i'm Is Years, ii Duce and
Ludovici Backing Construction.

bolizeS the Risorgimnto. but as wen
holds the remains Of Italy's Unknown
Soldier, so there is nothing to do but
to make the best Of IL and that Is what
Piacentini has tried, with his projected
colonnades. to do.
Hardly less interesting win be the
changes in the vicinity Of what was
once the Mausoleum OF Augustus, now
completely hidden from view by a mis-
cellaneous clutter of comparatively
modern structures. When the mauso-
leum was erected, at the very begin
ming of the Christian era. the vicinity
was meadow land. used by the Roman
youth for their athletic exercises, but
today the ruined masonry stands in the
heart of a crowded section, just on
the Corso Umberto I. After this sepul-
cher, with the empire, had fallen into
decay, it was employed in turn as a
fortress, an amphitheater and, in part,
as home for aged women. Today it
Is a concert hall and Arturo ToScanint
and the New York Philharmonic Sym
phony entertained Roman audiences
there on two consecutive nights last
Spring.
Recent excavations in the crypt have
brought to light several burnal urns in
marble which have a real historical
importance. One of the urns bears the
name of Octavia, sister of Augustus,
and another that Of her son Marcellus,
whose praises were sung by Vergil IN q
passage of the "Aeneld." The crypt
will be further excavated and restored.
The new city plan provides for the
complete isolation of the great circular
ruin and for the leveling of OF the
surrounding area into spacious piazza,
extending on the west to the banks
Of the Tiber Perhaps by 1850 the
thing of the interest for the tourist that
the tomb Of Hadrian. on the opposite
bank of the TibeT, has 50 long held.
This other ruin, Of course, gains much
In importance from the fact that
throughout the medieval and renais-
sance periods it played conspicuous
part In the history Of the city as the
Castle Of San Angelo.
Plan Parallel ThorOughfare.
The all too narrow Corso Umberto I.
which is the main north-south thor
oughfare of the city. extending from
the Piazza del Popolo to the Piazza
Venezia, is considered by the town
planners too much a vital architectural
unit Of the city to be seriously mo-
Tested, so they propose to tackle the
serious north-south traffic problem
without affecting any important
changes in this avenue. The CorSo is
to be relieved of part of its trafhc bur-
den through the construction OF par
alleI thoroughfare. which will begin at
A point near the Piazza San Carlo and
continue through the Piazza San ST.
vestro to the Piazza Venezia.
A second new north-south avenue
will begin on the banks Of the Ttber
at a point not far from the Mausoleum
of Augustus, and will pass In turn
through the new piazza Of the mauso-
leum and q projected enlarged piazza
before the BorgheSe Palace. It VIII
then continue to the Pantheon ana be.
yond to the Corso Victor Emmanuel.
| incidentally the whole street area In the
vicinity of the Pantheon Is to be low
cred nearly 10 feet to something ap-
preaching the ancient level OF the dis
| trict. the Pantheon itself Is to be re-
stored as nearly as possible to its origi-
nal appearance and the adjacent piazza
Is to be much enlarged.
| A third avenue, roughly parallel TO
the other two, Will begin In Q tunnel
through the medieval wall near the
principal northern gateway, and Will
ascend along the side of the Pincio.
Near the picturesque villa Medici this
new thoroughfare win divide, one
branch passing under the Spanish steps
to the east of the Piazza di Spagna and
Joining the Via Due Macelli, and the
other branch veering OF to the left and
eventually joining the Via Veneto. The
principal architectural features OF the
Piazza di Spagna, so well known TO ali
American tourists who visit Rome, VIII
remain as they are today.
New Streets Proposed.
Crossing these three north-south ave-
nues will be four new streets extending
from east to west. A projected central
railway station, to replace the existing
del'Esedra by an avenue nearly 800
feet in breadth. The greater part OF
the zone to the east OF the Colosseum
is to be developed as park, and parks
and gardens will be created along the
auueductS and around the obsolete forts.
Among the new public edifices VIII be q
post and telegraph building in the
Piazza BarbeAni, stock exchange
palace In the Plaza San Silvestro the
Victor Emmanuel Library near the Pan
theon, and the Fine Arts Institute and
the School of Architecture in the Vale
Giulia.
The great Roman roads, which follow
much the same routes in issuing from
the city that they did in ancient times,
are to be enlarged and beautified. Thus
the Via Flaminia, which has been the
principal highway from Rome into Tus-
cany for upward Of 1000 years, Is to be
completely transformed at its Roman
terminus in the Piazzale F1aninio. The
piazzale Is to be greatly enlarged, and
the row Of shop buildings which front
on the southern side of the via are to
be demolished. In the center OF this
section of the new highway will be a
parkway with two rows of trees.
At the point but a few hundred yards
from the city walls where the Via
Flaminia traverses the Tiber a new
monumental bridge will be constructed.
The bridge will serve as an entrance to
the Forum of MusSolini, which is now
under construction near the banks OF
the river. This forum is to be an i'm
menSe sports center, with two stadia,
gymnaSia and an obelisk, dedicated to
Mussolini, which is to reach higher to-
ward the heavens than any one of the
many other obelisks Of Rome.
Two new suburban zones are pro-
vided for, one aristocratic and the other
popular. The aristocratic zone will ex-
tend over the hills to the northwest and
west, such as Monte Mario and the
Parnesina. The popular zone will be
developed to the south and southwest
in the direction Of Ostia. It Is planned
to decrease the population to the acre
of the crowded zones of the existing city
and to entice the overflow into the new
suburbs. The whole center Of the city
Is 80 5e Loneycombed with modern sub
way lines.
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