theartsdesk in Rome: Building the Future, Slowly

Piano, piano: Rome still isn't being built in a day

by William WardSunday, 22 November 2009

Taking it to the MAXXI: Zaha Hadid's new Roman confection (also pictured below)Richard Bryant

The rapturous reception for Zaha Hadid’s groundbreaking, breathtaking new confection in Rome, Il Museo dell’Arte del XXIesimo Secolo - the 21st-Century Art Museum (MAXXI for short) - has reopened for the umpteenth time one of Italy’s favourite cultural debates. Why the hell does it take so long to build anything decent in our capital city, especially when we have one of the finest traditions - if not the finest - in architecture, civil engineering and construction, of anywhere in the whole world?

It’s particularly important to stress just how good a lot of the architecture – and quality of construction – was during the Fascist era in Italy

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