When Rome was awarded the honour of staging the next World Exhibition (an 'Expo' these days), which was set for 1941, a year's
postponement was engineered - so its timing could coincide with the Fascist regime's anniversary of 20 years in power.

Construction work began on the site - the Esposizione Universale Roma (EUR, but originally called E42) - however, very
little progress had been made before Italy was drawn into World War II, in June 1940.

The new post-war Republican government transformed EUR into the foundations of an out-of-town business district, and it
remains one of the few areas near the city of Rome where the usual ban on buildings over 10 storeys doesn't apply.

Today it's home to a variety of institutional offices, and several low-key museums. Of those, the 'Museo della Civiltà Romana',
with its model of ancient Rome and a host of reproduced monuments, is perhaps the most interesting.

For more background, a good pamphlet is available here
___ http://www.italiantouristoffice.se/sv/docs/76.pdf

... click on the thumbnails for larger versions - plus notes of many of them!

(Feb 2013 update - Be sure to check the hours of any museums you plan to
visit while out at EUR, as they may close earlier than you'd expect?)