Italo Balbo, who was
Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force at the time, turned to
Roberto Marino, a 28-year-old architect for the
Ministry of Aeronautics. The building was completed in two years and is considered the first in Italy to be built entirely of
reinforced concrete, consisting of 40-metre (43.74-yard) stone columns resting on foundations of 21 metres (22.97 yds). The work began on 2 August 1929 and was officially inaugurated on 28 October 1931 as headquarters of the
Italian Royal Air Force with the ninth anniversary of the
March on Rome. ==References==