ABSTRACT
Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime imposed its national rule on local communities in Italy during the 1920s, 30s, and early 40s, via a broad strategy that included devoting significant time and expense to the design and construction of public buildings that housed the institutions through which it sought to secure its position and transform Italian life. The Fascist Party made its first significant claim on the urban fabric of Milan when it purchased the stately eighteenth-century palazzo on Corso Venezia in 1923. The Milan Federation restructured the buildings interior to meet the needs of the organization. The new provincial headquarters provided visual evidence of Mussolini's recent political accomplishments; he now led the national government as prime minister, and his supporters controlled Palazzo Marino, which had served as Milan's town hall since the unification of Italy in 1861. Mussolini's growing political power helped to soldify the Fascist Party's authority.
