Armando Brasini

Armando Brasini was one of the best-known Italian architects of the early 20th century, known for his eclectic and visionary style inspired by baroque and ancient Roman traditions. He was considered “one of the great misfits of twentieth-century architecture” because of his resistance to the prevailing zeitgeist.

Largely self-taught, Brasini attended the Institute of Fine Arts and then dedicated himself to restoration and decoration. In 1909 for instance, he designed the entrance of Roma’s Zoo with baroque elements. After that followed urban planning projects and visions for Roma. In 1925-1926, he also produced the first master plan for the Albanian capital Tirana. He also designed stage sets and some costumes for silent movies such as Teodora (1921) and Quo vadis? (1924). He earned the favor of Mussolini who entrusted him with works in Tripoli and the master plan of the Flaminio district in Roma.

On Mussolini’s behalf, Brasini built the INAIL building in Roma between 1928 and 1932, and from 1930 to 1934 Taranto’s Government Palace. In 1937 he designed the Mole Littoria, intended to celebrate Mussolini’s imperial Roma in direct competition with Albert Speer’s achievements for Nazi Germany.

After World War II, most of his projects remained unrealized, including more urban planning for Roma, the King’s Palace in Ar-Riyad (KSA), and a bridge over the Strait of Messina with an artificial island.