Rome Hotels near Auditorium Parco della Musica

But when the symphony’s new home was finally completed, its design stirred the same sort of controversy which plagued the early years of the Sydney Opera House, now regarded as one of the world’s greatest architectural achievements.

The History of the Auditorium Parco della Musica

The Auditorium Parco della Musica, located not far from Rome’s posh Parioli district, was the creation of renowned architect Renzo Piano. Chosen for the job partly because of the acoustical success of his earlier Paris work, the Centre Pompidou, Piano presented the Rome City Council with a plan for not a single concert hall, but three separate halls joined by a single lobby around an open area with gardens, squares, and service facilities. The three halls and the rooms of the complex contain half a million cubic metres of space, with the surrounding grounds covering approximately eight hectares.

The controversy over Piano’s design arose not from the layout of the auditorium, but from their curiously rounded shapes. When seen from above, they resemble nothing so much as the backs of beetles, and their graduated sizes situated among the trees of the gardens around them give them the appearance of Papa, Mama, and Baby Beetle on a picnic.

Insect comparisons aside, the acoustics produced by Piano’s choice of shapes have made the three Roman brick, lead-roofed auditoriums of the Parco della Musica some of the most admired musical venues in the world. With capacities of 2800 in the Sala Santa Cecelia; 1200 in the Sala Sinipoli; and 700 in the Sala Petrassi; and the open air Greco-Roman styled Cavea amphitheatre, the Parco della Musica can stage productions from the massive to the somewhat intimate.

Other Features of the Auditorium Parco della Musica

Performances at the Parco della Musica range from classical, jazz, and pop concerts, to ballet and dance troupes and chamber music ensembles, and the newly-established Rome Film Festival.

One feature unique to the Auditoriums Parco della Musica is that, when the foundations for the parking garage were being dug in 1995, the ruins a fifth century Roman villa were discovered. Piano, unfazed, halted construction while he reworked his plans around the ruins, which are now one of the Parco della Musica’s attractions.

Accommodations near the Auditorium Parco della Musica

Situated in a refurbished villa and surrounded by the tree shaded streets of the exclusive Parioli district, the Degli Aranci Hotel offers provincially furnished rooms with large windows and city views. Guests can start their days most enjoyably in the hotel’s glass-enclosed breakfast room, looking out over a grove of orange trees.