Fencing Academy (1933–36), Rome

Professor Lucy Maulsby recently returned from a month of research and travel in Northern and Central Italy. Maulsby used her time in Italy to collect material related to her current book project The Architectural Legacy of Fascism in Postwar Italy and was supported a Faculty Research and Creative Activity Grant awarded by the College of Arts Media and Design awarded in 2015.

In addition to research carried out in libraries and archives, Maulsby visited and documented a number of buildings and sites that will be incorporated into her book. Among these is the Fencing Academy (1933–36) in Rome designed for the fascist youth group (Opera Nazionale Balilla) by the successful architect Luigi Moretti. The building is now the focus of a well-publicized restoration project that has sparked debate about the how best to confront fascism’s material remains.

Maulsby will be working on her book manuscript while on sabbatical during the coming academic year.