An illustrated essay by Sarah Moynihan (Rutgers ’21)
Visitors to Rome who travel away from the popular tourist sites in the Centro Storico and to the Portuense district can find, with just a bit of difficulty, in the shadow of an overpass, the front gate of the Casa Vittoria. Located at the corner of Via Portuense and Via Quirino Majorana, the building is currently home to an unassuming day center for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
However, a dossier from the Archivio Boncompagni Ludovisi, recovered with the help of HSH Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi, illuminates that the Casa Vittoria was once the center of significant internal governmental controversy during the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini.
Built in the late nineteenth century, since 1905 it was home to the olive oil processing company Oliere dell’Italia Centrale. In 1927, this factory, which by then had had fallen into disuse, was converted by the Italian government into a new shelter for indigent beggars called a “mendicicomio”. In January of 1928, the mendicicomio was opened for operation. For the general background, see the discussion of Luciano Villani, Le Borghate del Fascismo (2012) esp. Chapter 1. [Read more…]
Archivio Digitale Boncompagni Ludovisi 