Mostra d'Oltremare

This itinerary was created by the students of the Vittorio Emanuele II State secondary school in Naples, as part of the "La scuola adotta un monumento" project, promoted by the Napoli novantanove Foundation. The suggested itinerary includes a general description of the birth and evolution of the Mostra d'Oltremare and the Cubo d’Oro with an analysis of the external facade and the internal space of the monument. The cubo d’oro, located in the area of the Fasilide pool of the Ethiopian colony's pavilion, represents within the exhibition space, a perfect synthesis between art and history of the city and its use offers students and visitors the change to approach the themes of rationalist architecture, the reasons that produced it and those that decreed its decay, within a broader project about the “Great world history and the propaganda of totalitarian regimes”.  To this end, thanks to the use of new technologies, it was also possible to create the virtual reconstruction of the monument. What we observe today inside the cubo d’oro does not reflect the original configuration, as the inscriptions celebrating the fascist colonial policy were removed in the postwar architectural restoration and recovery interventions.  Therefore, the idea of the project also focused on the desire to enhance the monument in its history, projecting period films on the bare walls and setting up explanatory didactic panels. We thank the Mostra d’Oltremare organization, the Napoli Novantanove Foundation and La Terra dei Miti Srl for having allowed the realization of this itinerary through a workshop, recognized in study path for transversal skills and for Orientation (PCTO).