The article examines some recent volumes dedicated to the public use of antiquity in postunification
Italy, with particular emphasis to the myths of Rome in the fascist era. The author
highlights how the historiographical debate has undergone significant transformation in recent
decades. In particular, antiquity has become a privileged lens for understanding broader
political, cultural, and social dynamics, concerning the processes of legitimising power, the
role of images and exhibitions, urban space, and the importance attributed to architecture, archaeology,
and art. The discussion on the public uses of antiquity and of the myths of Rome
allows us to highlight the many implications of this issue: the various protagonists, the instruments
of the transmission of history, and the aspects of both continuity and rupture between
liberal, fascist, and contemporary Italy.