Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Central Montemartini: Attic for Urban Renewal

In the first electric power station in Rome, the Giovanni Montemartini Thermoelectric Center, stand hundreds of ancient sculptures, part of a wonderful adaptive reuse project by the City of Rome. Setting Roman sculptures against a background of two-story turbines makes for a unique experience and gave the city of Rome a new space in which to show parts of their collections that were hidden away due to lack of exhibit space.

But you realize as well, as you read the captions, about where each sculpture was found, that the museum is also a record of Mussolini's massive urban renewal of the 1920s and 1930s, in pursuit of Roman antiquities and an efficient car-oriented city.









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