About this episode
"What happens to fascist architecture after fascism?" asks a recent BBC Culture headline . It's a good question. Because buildings are made by people and cultures, they are never just "functional." They tell stories. A tax office in Bolzano, Italy, for example, features a mural of Benito Mussolini on horseback , giving the infamous straight-arm salute. "It's a remarkable piece of fascist [propaganda-inspired] architecture," writes the BBC's Alex Sakalis : "Awe-inspiring, odious and perplexing all at once." For decades, the building sparked conflict, until yearly neo-fascist rallies and bombing attempts forced leaders to seek a compromise in 2017. The tax office was left standing, its mural still visible, but over the top, the words of Hannah Arendt were written in LED lights: " Nobody has the right to obey ." In other words, the duty of conscience triumphs over the demands of totalitarian regimes. Incredibly, the compromise seems to have eased the tension . We need not choose between romanticizing or demolishing history. Sometimes it's enough to let the truth be put in context, and learn from it.