The World Expo Quarter was built by order of Benito Mussolini in 1935–42. in the southwest of Rome in preparation for the International Exhibition of 1942, which never took place due to the outbreak of the Second World War. The Italian name of the exhibition is Esposizione Universale Roma, and its abbreviation gave the area its name. The austere buildings of the EUR Quarter, the wide squares and slender rows of trees in the spacious streets were designed and realized by a large team of architects working under the general direction of Marcello Piacentini. The constructions and buildings of the quarter have an ascetic appearance, with monotonous facades, which are occasionally decorated with pilasters, columns, several bas-reliefs and mosaic panels, and in some places outside they are furnished with sculptures with a simplified texture and plasticity. The construction of the area resumed only in 1950 on the occasion of the Rome Olympic Games. Noteworthy are the Palace of Sports for 16,000 spectators, the velodrome on the Avenue of Sports Records, the Church of St.. Peter and Paul, the Palace of Congresses, the Palace of Administration, and the Palace of Civilization and Labor, better known as the "Square Colosseum". There are several interesting museums here - Ancient Art, Folk Traditions, the High Middle Ages, the Museum of Roman Civilization, the Pigorini Ethnographic Museum, a planetarium and others. Nowadays, the EUR area is a modern business center with wide streets. On the central alley, you can see the monument to Gugliemo Marconi, and on a hot day, relax in the shade by a large artificial lake.