The rural architecture of the Duce: the villages of Sicilian latifundium

Abstract

At the end of the '30s the Italian government, a regime of absolute and conservative approach guided by Il Duce, Benito Mussolini, carried out an attempt of regeneration of rural areas: the Colonization of Sicilian Latifundium. The system was based on the rural city of Edward Caracciolo, the father of local town planning. Caracciolo's planning had spread into a network of houses with its farms and services concentrated in rural villages, where schools, churches, police stations, the doctor's surgeries, etc. may be also be found. Despite the government's efforts to reorganize the region, it was not particularly effective for a variety of historical and social reasons, none bigger than the start of World War II which diverted attention and resources from the program. However, today we can find various rural towns in Sicily with many houses that, because of their low use, still retain the architectural and construction features of the period. The author has been conducting scientific research on this topic for several years. He started with the archive "Ente per la Colonizzazione del Latifondo Siciliano" (now called Ente Sviluppo Agricolo) to review the original designs, contracts with companies, ledgers and other administrative documents. Lately, he has been reviewing the personal archives of designers involved in the building program, finding original drawings, letters, sketches, etc. He has also conducted an architectonic and technical survey of the most relevant buildings, studying the possibilities for their reuse. The work is particularly relevant when you consider that the local government has instructed the allocation of structural funds for the refurbishment of these rural villages. It is believed they represent a strategic resource of development of the rural area of Sicily.