Construction began in 1928 under Costanzo Ciano, head of the Ministry of Communications; when finally completed in 1936, it was inaugurated by the minister, Antonio Stefano Benni.

The design was by the Bolognese architect Giuseppe Vaccaro, and was influenced by the Rationalist style of Italian architecture promoted by Marcello Piacentini.

It is thought that the building had been mined with timed fuses by the retreating German army.

[1] The attic now has a museum in honor of Vincenzo Tucci, a journalist for Il Mattino.

In the lobby, which rises nearly the full height of the building, there is a sculpture dedicated to the "fallen" by Arturo Martini.