The famous fashion house Fendi, whose specialties include furs, ready-to-wear, shoes, other leather goods, fragances, and eyewear, has transferred its Rome headquarters to the iconic Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. Inaugurated during Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime in the EUR district, which was to be the site of the 1942 World’s Fair (an event aborted thanks to the outbreak of World War II), the building had never served any organized, complete, and continuous use. For the amount of 2,800,000 euros Fendi has rented the ‘Square Colosseum,’ as it is nicknamed, for fifteen years. The characteristic shape of its floor plan and the 216 identical arches carved in white travertine on its facades have made it a symbol of the city of Rome, thus its appearance in innumerable photographs and films.

Fendi has up to now straddled two different centers, but will now easily take in the luxury brand’s over 400 employees in one HQ. The higher floors of the edifice will accommodate the offices of the company’s various sections, besides the atelier of the designer Karl Lagerfeld, the laboratory for research on furs, and the office of Fendi’s chief executive officer, Pietro Beccari. The entire first floor will be an exhibition hall open to the public. According to Fendi, the inauguration of its new site is part of the celebrations for the firm’s 90th anniversary, and marks a new chapter in its commitment to help preserve the artistic and architectural heritage of Italy, after its huge financial disbursement for the sprucing up of the Trevi Fountain.