Ubi's site about Rome, the Eternal City

The area of EUR is not a place where most travellers come, and it's a pity. The presence of the Museum of the Roman civilization, though, and more recently of the municipal planetary, is a good excuse to have a look around.
It is the latest of the "wealthy" areas in Rome, actually the only modern one, built with grandeur in mind and the intention to revive the spirit of the Roman art (and empire).
The project is from the Thirties, born in order to provide a great housing for the Universal Expo of 1941-42, which that never took place because of the turmoil that plageud Europe at the time leading to the Second World War. The area had to celebrate the Fascist march on Rome, an event that marked the rising of the totalitarian regime in Italy.
The name of the area had to be "E42", then was "EUR" (Esposizione Universale di Roma); today it officially means "Europa", yet the citizens still call it, simply, "EUR".
If you can forget about the original meaning for the creation of the area and the infamous past of Fascism, you will realize that the interest of the buildings and the plan is in its uniqueness for a city like Rome.
There is even a dedicated, private institution that partially manages the area, independently of the Municipality.

The scenography of EUR spans mainly within the triangle formed by the "Palazzo della Civiltà e del Lavoro" ("Palace of Civilization and Work"), "Palazzo dei Congressi" and the lake.

A night view of statues in the EUR Palace of Civilization and Work

The lake is very peculiar in the Rome landscape: it is an artificial pool of water sorrounded by modern buildings and meadows. It is crossed by the via Cristoforo Colombo which leads to Ostia, the ruins of the old port are not far from here.
In the lake you can often see people canoing, there is a swimming pool and -by the time of writing this guide- an immense aquarium is being built.
Around the lake there are probably the most luxurious villas and watching towards the sea of Ostia, to the right, the famous "fungo" ("mushroom") stands as the highest construction of the area. On the top of it, there is a well-known restaurant. In the past the dome could rotate to offer a 360 degrees view of the city while eating, now this is not possible any more.
It is worth to mention that Italians do not have a broad experience of "real" skyscrapers, so some of the buildings in this area are called after the much taller buildings of other cities and, indeed, they have a much higher number of floors, comapred with any other of the Eternal City.

The "Palazzo della Civiltà e del Lavoro" ("Palace of Civilization and Work") is called "The Square Coliseum" by the citizens of Rome and it actually was intended to replicate the idea conveyed by the original monument from the Roman Empire.