Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Modern Rome
Rome's recent past has witnessed a flurry of architectural activity. A clutch of archistars
have worked on projects in the city, including Renzo Piano, Italy's foremost architect;
renowned American Richard Meier; Anglo-Iraqi Zaha Hadid; Odile Decq, a major French
architect; and Dutch legend Rem Koolhaas.
In 2010, archistar Zaha Hadid won the UK's prestigious RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Stirling
prize for her work on MAXXI. Her sinuous, curvaceous design beat out competition from projects in Berlin
and Oxford.
Controversy & Acclaim
The foundations of this building boom date to the early 1990s, when then-mayor Francesco
Rutelli launched a major clean-up of the historic centre. As part of the process, he commis-
sioned Richard Meier to build a new pavilion for the 1st-century-AD Ara Pacis. Predict-
ably, Meier's glass-and-steel Museo dell'Ara Pacis caused controversy when it was un-
veiled in 2006. Vittorio Sgarbi, an outspoken art critic and politician, claimed that the
American's design was the first step to globalising Rome's unique classical heritage. The
Roman public appreciated the idea of modern architecture in the city centre, but few were
entirely convinced by Meier's design and in 2010 Rome's mayor, Gianni Alemanno, met
the architect to discuss modifications. The most important change they agreed on was to
knock down the wall that separates the Ara Pacis from the Tiber-front road, as part of a
planned renovation of the entire Piazza Augusto Imperatore area. As of yet, however,
there's no sign of work starting on the project.
Meier won far more acclaim for a second project, his striking Chiesa Dio Padre Miseri-
cordioso in Tor Tre Teste, a dreary suburb east of the city centre. Another religious project
that won widespread applause was Paolo Portoghesi's postmodern mosque, opened in 1995
in the upmarket Parioli district.
Back nearer the centre, Renzo Piano's Auditorium Parco della Musica has had a huge
impact on Rome's music and cultural scene. Piano, the man behind London's Shard sky-
scraper and the
New York Times
building, is one of only a few Italian architects who can
genuinely claim international celebrity status.
