Rome: The new mayor wants to remove the Meier Museum from the center

Rome - The newly elected Roman mayor Gianni Alemanno has already made conservative Italians happy during his first days in office, as they disapprove of the modern Ara Pacis museum in the historic center of Rome. He announced that he is considering dismantling the minimalist building designed by American architect Richard Meier and relocating it somewhere outside the city center. The museum, which opened to the public in 2006, was approved by the previous leftist city administration.
    "Meier's building should be dismantled," indicated Alemanno his plans. "The building should be relocated... although that is obviously not our priority right now," he added. However, the mayor also acknowledged that he would likely organize a referendum on the relocation of the museum and let the citizens make a final decision.
    The glass structure of the museum, which houses the altar of peace erected in the first century by Emperor Augustus in honor of his military victories, stands on the banks of the Tiber River, right in the historic center of the city. Heated debates about the museum's design began as early as 1995 when architect Meier was awarded the contract for its construction.
    Traditionalists argued that the ultra-modern building would be disruptive alongside historic ancient monuments. Critics assigned numerous unflattering nicknames to the building and claimed it looked like a gas station. However, the then-city hall ultimately pushed through the realization of the project despite public opposition.
    The strongest objections to the building came from the right-wing opposition on the Rome city council - but in the recent mayoral elections, the right wing succeeded after 15 years. Its candidate Alemanno defeated his leftist opponent, former Minister of Culture Francesco Rutelli. The election result marked another weakening of the Italian left, which also lost the parliamentary elections in April.
    Seventy-three-year-old American Richard Alan Meier is one of the most significant contemporary architects in the world. He has held the Pritzker Prize, regarded as the highest individual honor in architecture, for over 20 years and has completed dozens of projects. He is, for example, the author of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona and the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Meier is also one of the few world architects who has designed for the Czech Republic - his work includes the project for the completion of the Prague Pankrác Plain.