Mario De Renzi: The Forgotten Roman Rationalist

Mario De Renzi (Rome, 1897–1967), overshadowed by Adalberto Libera and Luigi Moretti, was a key figure in Italian architecture. After graduating from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, he joined Alberto Calza Bini's studio. With Luigi Ciarocchi, he built housing for Governorate employees in Piazza Mazzini (1925) in the 'barocchetto' style, and the ICP houses at Piazza Perin del Vaga (1925–27) referencing Borromini and Raguzzini. In 1927–29 they built a complex in Via Andrea Doria with sterner Roman references. His major project was the Federici housing block in Viale XXI Aprile (1932–37): 15,000 sqm, 442 apartments, 70 shops, and a cinema (now a supermarket). Bruno Zevi called it 'futurist architecture'; Ettore Scola set his 1977 film 'Una giornata particolare' there, starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, on May 6, 1938, when Hitler visited Mussolini. De Renzi sided with the RAMI faction against MIAR, advocating 'modern but Italian' architecture. In 1933 he collaborated with Libera on the façade of the Palazzo delle Esposizioni for the Mostra della Rivoluzione Fascista. Their masterpiece is the Palazzo delle Poste in Via Marmorata (1934), blending rationalism and futurism. In 1935, with Giorgio Calza Bini, he built the Palazzina Furmanik on Lungotevere Flaminio, a rationalist gem with sliding shutters (later removed). De Renzi awaits full recognition.