Mario Fagiolo – later Mario dell’Arco – was an architect by profession in the 1930s. This week I was lucky enough to be able to visit his two main contributions to 20th century architecture, both done with his colleague Mario Ridolfi. (The two would have a falling out after the war. Fagiolo would subsequently abandon architecture for literature and change his name to Dell’Arco.)

The first, below, is the Fontana dello Zodiaco (Zodiac Fountain) in Terni, which is essentially a ‘space needle’ surrounded by mosaics of the zodiac. Terni isn’t a terrible enchanting city, as far as Italy goes; it was bombed heavily during WWII as it was a major site of arms manufacturing, and the fountain was damaged as a result. After the war, it was reconstructed. The fountain dates from 1932-36, a full decade before Taja ch’è rosso! – his first collection – was published.

The second is the Post Office in Piazza Bologna (1935) in Rome. It was night when I visited, so the photo isn’t great, but you can get some idea of its modernist lines.

Architecture makes frequent appearances in Dell’Arco’s poetry, as one might expect. Even his nom de plume is a play on architecture: Dell’Arco, ‘of the Arch‘(itect). Here is one of my favorites, “Spiral Staircase”. The poem alludes to what in all probability is the spiral staircase of Bramante in St. Peter’s Basilica (below).

Day Lasts Forever: Selected Poems of Mario dell’Arco is available from World Poetry Books.