New Architecture and Historical Ruins: Auditorium Parco della Musica

Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome - Sunday, June 19th, 2011

Ancient ruins uncovered underneath construction of the Parco della Musica

On June 19^th, we visited the Auditorium Parco della Musica - a cluster of three concert halls in Rome used for music events. The three buildings are laid out around a central outdoor amphitheatre. They look like three large beetles nestled together, or as the locals have said, like blobs, cockroaches, scarabs, turtles, insect carapaces, or even computer mice.

The bases of these structures are made with traditional thin red Roman brick and the dramatic, curved roofs of lead – all local materials. It was designed by Italian Architect Renzo Piano , who pictured the three buildings as 'music boxes’. As with any modern construction, the designs were heavily criticized by the Roman public. In the end it took nearly 10 years to complete the project and was formally inaugurated on December 21^st, 2002.

What is interesting as well about the construction of the “beetles” is that during construction, they uncovered the foundations of an ancient villa dating from the 6^th century BC. Renzo Piano had to redesign the plans to accommodate the archaeological remains and included a small museum to house the artefacts that were discovered. This delayed the project by a year.

Now the Parco Della Musica is not only Rome’s prime public music complex, but it is also celebrated as a famous contemporary work of architecture, and an important ancient historical site.

Three clustered concert halls that make up Parco della Musica

By Laura Van Staveren, Anne Charbonneau and Amanda Cox

Keywords: Society