Leisure association of the State Monopoly

In the 1930s, this area between Porta Portese, the Janiculum Walls and the Ministry of Education was empty, and it was decided to build two new buildings: the Casa della GIL and the Dopolavoro dei Monopoli di Stato. The building that currently houses the Nuovo Sacher cinema was in fact created as a leisure association for state monopolies.
The construction of the building was therefore entrusted to the architect Ettore Rossi, who began construction in 1936 and completed it in 1938. The building was constructed in simple forms and dialogues perfectly with Moretti's rationalist Casa della GIL opposite.
The façade is dominated by the large glass entrance on the ground floor, above which is a narrow, long balcony decorated with a bas-relief of an imperial eagle and the inscription DOPOLAVORO DEI MONOPOLI DI STATO.
During World War II, the Dopolavoro was used as a reception centre for evacuees.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Ferdinand Bovenschen