Perhaps beautiful is not the word but this nonetheless fascinating piazza is a leftover of Il Duce's dreams of grandeur. Designed by Marcello Piacentini and opened in 1932, the square is lined with a compendium of Fascist architecture – imposing, Big Brotherish, some would say even boorish.
At the north end, the post office, with its soaring, right-angled columns, looks like some fear-inspiring ministry. Insurance companies with giant marble-faced porticoes line the square's sides. Perhaps most curious of all is the arengario, a rather small, rose-marble structure used to harangue the cheering crowds. One shudders to think what medieval jewels were swept away to make way for Piazza della Vittoria (Victory Sq).