The Danteum was an unbuilt monument proposed by Giuseppe Terragni to honor the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. Terragni designed the structure to symbolically represent Dante's Divine Comedy, with different levels representing Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. The levels, forms and spaces were meant to interpret the poem's references to numerology and geometry. Though unbuilt, the Danteum project demonstrated Terragni's skill at translating literary concepts into architectural design through proportion, geometry and symbolic use of space.

1. THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE
AR.GUISEPPETERRAGNI AND HIS FAMOUSWORKS
SUBMITTED BY – DEVESHTRIPATHI
B-ARCH 4THYEAR
A.S.A , LUCKNOW

2. GUISEPPE TERRAGNI
• GIUSEPPE TERRAGNI (18 APRIL 1904 – 19 JULY 1943) WAS AN
ITALIAN ARCHITECT WHO WORKED PRIMARILY UNDER THE FASCIST
REGIME OF BENITO MUSSOLINI AND PIONEERED THE ITALIAN
MODERN MOVEMENT UNDER THE RUBRIC OF RATIONALISM.
• . PROGRESSIVE ART THEORY OF THE 18TH-CENTURY OPPOSED THE
BAROQUE USE OF ILLUSIONISM WITH THE CLASSIC BEAUTY OF
TRUTH AND REASON. RATIONAL ARCHITECTS, FOLLOWING THE
PHILOSOPHY OF RENÉ DESCARTES EMPHASIZED GEOMETRIC FORMS
AND IDEAL PROPORTIONS.
• A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE FASCIST GRUPPO 7 AND A LEADING
ITALIAN RATIONALIST, TERRAGNI FOUGHT TO MOVE ARCHITECTURE
AWAY FROM NEO-CLASSICAL AND NEO-BAROQUE REVIVALISM.

3. FASCIST ARCHITECTURE
• FASCIST ARCHITECTURE IS A STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE DEVELOPED BY ARCHITECTS OF
FASCIST SOCIETIES IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY. THE STYLE GAINED POPULARITY IN THE
LATE 1920S WITH THE RISE OF MODERNISM ALONG WITH THE NATIONALISM ASSOCIATED
WITH FASCIST GOVERNMENTS IN WESTERN EUROPE.
• BOTH BENITO MUSSOLINI AND ADOLF HITLER UTILIZED THE NEW STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE
AS ONE OF MANY WAYS TO UNIFY THE CITIZENS OF THEIR NATIONS AND ATTEMPT TO
MARK A NEW ERA OF NATIONALIST CULTURE, AND TO EXHIBIT THE ABSOLUTE RULE OF
THE NATION.
• THE FASCIST STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE WAS SIMILAR TO THE ANCIENT ROMAN STYLE IN
THAT FASCIST BUILDINGS WERE GENERALLY VERY LARGE AND SYMMETRIC WITH SHARP
NON-ROUNDED EDGES. THE BUILDINGS PURPOSEFULLY CONVEYED A SENSE OF AWE AND
INTIMIDATION THROUGH THEIR SIZE, AND WERE MADE OF LIMESTONE AND OTHER
DURABLE STONES IN ORDER TO LAST THE ENTIRETY OF THE FASCIST ERA.
• THE BUILDINGS WERE ALSO VERY PLAIN WITH LITTLE OR NO DECORATION AND LACKED
ANY COMPLEXITY IN DESIGN. THESE GENERALITIES OF FASCIST ARCHITECTURE
CONTRIBUTED TO THE SIMPLE AESTHETICS THE EDIFICES DISPLAY. ALL THESE ASPECTS
HELPED THE FASCIST DICTATORSHIPS EXHIBIT ABSOLUTE AND TOTAL RULE OF THE

4. DANTEUM
• THE DANTEUM IS AN UNBUILT MONUMENT PROPOSED BY A SCHOLAR OF DANTE,
APPROVED BY THE BENITO MUSSOLINI'S FASCIST GOVERNMENT, DESIGNED BY THE
MODERNIST ARCHITECT GIUSEPPE TERRAGNI
• THE STRUCTURE WAS MEANT TO BE BUILT IN ROME ON THE VIA DELL'IMPERO.
THE INTENTION WAS TO CELEBRATE THE FAMOUS ITALIAN POET DANTE, EXTOL
THE VIRTUES OF A STRONG FASCIST STATE, THAT BASES ITS FOUNDATIONS ON
THE GLORY OF IMPERIAL ROME.
• THE DANTEUM WAS CONCEIVED AS AN ALLEGORY OF THE DIVINE COMEDY.
• IT CONSISTS OF A SEQUENCE OF MONUMENTAL SPACES THAT PARALLEL THE
NARRATOR'S JOURNEY FROM THE "DARK WOOD" THROUGH HELL, PURGATORY,
AND PARADISE. RATHER THAN ATTEMPTING TO ILLUSTRATE THE NARRATIVE
• TERRAGNI FOCUSES ON THE TEXT'S FORM AND RHYME STRUCTURE,
TRANSLATING THEM INTO THE LANGUAGE OF CAREFULLY PROPORTIONED
SPACES AND UNADORNED SURFACES TYPICAL OF ITALIAN RATIONALISM.

5. THE LEVELS, FORMS, AND SPACES OF THE DANTEUM ARE
TERRAGNI’S INTERPRETATION OF DANTE’S DIVINE COMEDY.
• AS THE DIVINE COMEDY INCLUDES REFERENCES TO
NUMEROLOGY AND GEOMETRY, THE POEM COULD BE
SEEN AS A WRITTEN ALLEGORY OF THE PHYSICAL
STRUCTURE OF THE AFTERLIFE. TERRAGNI, IN HIS TURN,
TOOK THE TEXT AND DESIGNED A PHYSICAL MODEL OF
THAT WRITTEN ALLEGORY, ALSO USING NUMEROLOGY
AND GEOMETRY
• THE PROPOSED DESIGN IS AN ACCESS, A SQUARE AND A
ROUTE THROUGH THE RUINS, AS A SPACE OF
TRANSITION, RESTORING A “MEMENTO” OF THE CITY OF
ROME. SO A MEMORY OF THE CITY IS REBORN.
• THE DANTEUM – A NON CONSTRUCTED PROJECT – WAS
ONE OF HIS PROJECT WHICH CONSIST
OF THREE MAIN SPACES; INTERNO (THE HELL),
PURGATORIO (THE PURGATORY) AND PARADISO (THE
PARADISE),THAT A TEMPLE TO THE GREATEST OF ITALIAN
POETS (DANTE).
• THOSE THREE FUNDAMENTAL SPACES DEDICATED TO THE
DIVINE COMEDY ARE PLACED IN ASCENDING ORDER AND
OCCUPY THE REMINDER OF THE RECTANGLE.
• THE RECTANGLE OF THE DANTEUM COMPRISED ON T

6. THE DANTEUM PROJECT THREE MAJOR OPERATIONS
ARE INVOLVED IN DESIGN SYNTHESIS.
• THE FIRST INFLECTS THE FAMILIAR METAPHOR OF
THE COLUMN AS A BODY.
• THE SECOND USES RECURSIVE 'EXTREME TO MEAN
RATIO' PROPORTIONS TO ESTABLISH NESTING,
REPETITION AND SCALING, AND THROUGH THESE A
SENSE OF UNITY.
• THE THIRD USES A PATTERN OF OVERLAPPING
SQUARES SO AS TO CREATE A DIALOGUE BETWEEN
STRONGLY DIFFERENTIATED INTERIORS AND
TRANSITIONAL ZONES
• THE BUILDING WAS LARGELY NON-FUNCTIONAL, BUT
IN PASSING THROUGH THE VARIOUS ROOMS YOU
WOULD HAVE BEEN RECREATING DANTE'S JOURNEY,
FROM THE DARK WOODS ALL THE WAY TO THE HALL
OF PARADISE.
• THE HALL OF PARADISE WAS ACTUALLY SUSPENDED
ABOVE THE PURGATORY ROOM, WHICH IS BECAUSE
IT LITERALLY GIVES THOSE IN PURGATORY A GLIMPSE

7. GOLDEN SECTION AND THE OVERLAP
• NOW THERE IS ONLY ONE RECTANGLE THAT CLEARLY
EXPRESSES THE HARMONIC LAW OF UNITY AND TRINITY, AND
THIS IS THE RECTANGLE KNOWN HISTORICALLY AS THE
'GOLDEN'; THE RECTANGLE, THAT IS; WHOSE SIDES ARE IN THE
GOLDEN RATIO. ONE IS THE RECTANGLE, THREE ARE THE
SEGMENTS THAT DETERMINE THE GOLDEN RATIO.
• EACH GOLDEN RECTANGLE WOULD ALSO HAVE OTHER GOLDEN
RECTANGLES NESTED WITHIN, IN THE SAME PROPORTION
WHILE THE SQUARE SHAPE IS NORMALLY ASSOCIATED WITH
STABILITY, THE GOLDEN RECTANGLE, WHICH CAN BE DERIVED
FROM A SQUARE, BECOMES ASSOCIATED WITH A RECURSIVE
SERIES OF SIMILAR RECTANGLES.
• IN THE DANTEUM ,THE CONTOUR OF THE ENTIRE BUILDING
AND ALL INTERNAL SPACES ARE GOLDEN RECTANGLES IN
PLAN. THIS -PROPORTIONING SYSTEM HAS AN ADDED
DIMENSION - ITS GEOMETRY GENERATES THE POSITIONING OF
COLUMNS.
• THE TWO BASIC OVERLAPPING SQUARES ARE SO SHIFTED AS TO
DEFINE A GOLDEN RECTANGLE AS THEIR COMPOSITE
PERIMETER. THE PATTERN OF OVERLAP HOWEVER ALSO

8. THE INFLUENCE
• SINCE THE FORM OF THE DIVINE COMEDY WAS
ITSELF INFLUENCED BY THE ARCHITECTURAL
STRUCTURE OF BYZANTINE CHURCHES, THE
DANTEUM IS IN A SENSE A TRANSLATION OF A
TRANSLATION.
PERSONIFICATION OF COLUMNS
• THE COLUMN IS USED TO DENOTE THE
ABSTRACT STRUCTURE OF THE POEM IN TERMS
OF NUMBER (REFLECTING THE COMPOSITIONAL
ASPECTS). THE FIRST ENCOUNTER OF THE
COLUMNS IS AFTER THE COURTYARD. HERE
THE 100 COLUMNS REPRESENT THE 100
CANTOS OF THE POEM. THE 33 GLASS
COLUMNS IN PARADISE SIGNIFY THE NUMBER
CANTOS· OF THAT PARTICULAR PART OF THE
POEM. COLUMNS ARE ALSO USED TO
REPRESENT QUALITATIVE ASPECTS OF THE
NUMBERS AS SEEN IN INFERNO, WHERE THE 7
COLUMNS ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SEVEN
SINS.

9. CASA DEL FASCIO
• THE CASA DEL FASCIO OF COMO ALSO CALLED
THE PALAZZO TERRAGNI, IS A BUILDING
LOCATED IN COMO, NORTHERN ITALY.
• STARTED IN 1932 AND COMPLETED IN 1936
UNDER THE REGIME OF BENITO MUSSOLINI AS
THE SEAT OF THE LOCAL BRANCH OF THE
NATIONAL FASCIST PARTY.
• THIS MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
WAS ORIGINALLY CONSTRUCTED WITH A
PRIMARY VIEW OF FUNCTIONING AS AN
ELEGANT "SET PIECE" FOR MASS FASCIST
RALLIES. CONCEPTUALIZED AS A CLASSICAL
PALAZZO CENTERED ON A GLASS ATRIUM, IT
WAS FRESCOED WITH ABSTRACT PAINTINGS BY
THE ARTIST MARIO RADICE AND THE ORIGINAL

10. THE INFLUENCES
• THE INFLUENCE OF FASCISM IN THE
DESIGN OF THE CASA DEL FASCIO IS
NOTICED IMMEDIATELY, EVEN IN THE
CHOICE OF SITE LOCATION.
• A SITE JUST OUTSIDE THE CITY WALL
WAS CHOSEN TO SYMBOLICALLY
REPRESENT THE NEW FASCIST
GOVERNMENT, AND ITS DIRECT
ORIENTATION FACING THE APSE OF THE
CATHEDRAL OF COMO IS SIGNIFICANT
AS WELL IN AN ATTEMPT TO
“RESURRECT THE CHURCH-STATE
DIALOGUE OF THE RENAISSANCE CITY-
STATES.”
• THE CHOICE OF A MEANINGFUL SITE
WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE CASA
DEL FASCIO WAS “TO EMBODY THE
HIERARCHY OF THE PARTY AND OF
FASCISM ITSELF; IT WAS NOT ENOUGH
FOR IT TO BE A CONVENIENT BUILDING.”

11. THE GEOMETRY AND FUNCTIONS
• PLANNED WITHIN A PERFECT SQUARE AND HALF AS HIGH AS ITS 110 FOOT WIDTH,
THE HALF CUBE OF THE CASA DEL FASCIO ESTABLISHED THE PINNACLE OF STRICT
RATIONAL GEOMETRY.
• EACH OF THE BUILDING’S FOUR FACADES IS DIFFERENT, HINTING AT THE INTERNAL
LAYOUT AND RHYTHMICALLY BALANCING THE OPEN AND CLOSED SPACES.
• ON EVERY SIDE EXCEPT THE SOUTH-EAST ELEVATION WHICH ARTICULATES THE MAIN
STAIR, THE WINDOWS AND THE EXTERNAL LAYERS OF THE BUILDING ARE EMPLOYED IN
SUCH A WAY TO EXPRESS THE INTERNAL ATRIUM.
• INSIDE, CANTILEVERED STAIRWAYS AND OFFICES ARE ARRANGED AROUND A GREAT
COVERED COURTYARD ILLUMINATED FROM ABOVE BY SKYLIGHTS IN CONCRETE-
FRAME GLASS PANELS.
• SLIGHTLY ELEVATED ON A MASONRY BASE, THE FASCIST POLITICAL PURPOSE OF THE
STRUCTURE IS EXPRESSED ALMOST LITERALLY THROUGH THE CHAIN OF GLASS DOORS
WHICH SEPARATES THE ENTRANCE FOYER FROM THE PIAZZA. THESE, WHEN
SIMULTANEOUSLY OPENED BY AN ELECTRICAL DEVICE, WOULD HAVE UNITED THE
INNER AGORA OF THE CORTILE TO THE PIAZZA, THEREBY PERMITTING THE
UNINTERRUPTED FLOW OF MASS DEMONSTRATIONS FROM STREET TO INTERIOR.
• THE SUBTLE IMPLANTATION OF THE WORK IN AN HISTORIC URBAN CORE, IT’S FACING

13. STRUCTURE
Terragni manages to rationalize the structure to the
maximum. He creates a Maya of reinforced concrete
porticos, but he not only scatters this grid by the two
directions of the horizontal plane, but he does it in the
three directions of space, as if the half cube that is the
volume of the building is in turn decomposed In smaller
cubes.
The structure is composed of eight porticos on each
facade that are repeated along the four floors of height
that the building has.
MATERIALS
The main materials that Terragni used were few, but all
of them chosen with some symbolic purpose, as well as
obviously solving the practical aspects of the daily use
of the building.
The structure is made of reinforced concrete in its

17. THANK YOU….