The Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace) was built to celebrate the peace established in the roman empire by the emperor Augustus, after his military campaigns North of the Alps, in Gaul and in Spain, between the years 16 B.C. and 13 B.C. The altar was finished in the year 9 B.C. and was originally located in the Field of Mars, not far south from its current location.
Due to the fact that its original location was within the river Tiber’s flood plain, with the fall of the roman empire it got slowly buried by the floods and its location was forgotten.
It was rediscovered in the 16th century, below the foundations of a palace, but only in the 20th century was it brought back to light and, in 1938, reassembled inside a new pavillion Mussolini had ordered to be specifically built for that purpose by the mausoleum of Augustus.
After World War II and a subsequent period of neglect, the altar and the pavilion were restored, but it was found that the pavilion could not guarantee the long term conservation of the altar, due to high temperature and humidity oscillations.
In 1995 the municipality of Rome decided to replace the pavilion and the work was commissioned to Richard Meier.
The new building was finally inaugurated in the 21st of April 2006. It is composed of three main sections: the first one, a more enclosed space, houses the entrance, the bookshop and an introductory space (displaying a model with the original context within which the altar was placed); the second section is the central glass pavilion that houses the monument; the third section is a conference hall and an area for restoration work. It has a roof terrace that is supposedly open to the public (not when I was there). There is a lower level, below the main museum level, containing an exhibition space where fragments of the monument not used in its restoration are displayed, staff offices and service areas.
This project has been controversial from the day Meier was chosen to build it. There was even a candidate for mayor said if he got elected he would demolish it.
I’m not the biggest fan of this building (I know there are some Meier fans in our community) but, having been there, it seems as if the building is being slowly assimilated by the city and becoming a part of it. It’s kind of a paradox to see that, despite using Meier’s trademark language (not the most site sensitive one) it is rather contextualized and relates relatively well with its surroundings. Even if I would have preferred it to be different, this building seems quite successful. A proof of that is the huge quantity of people using both the building and the new public spaces it generated.
View from across the Tiber
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks