In early May, the Italian publication La Repubblica and Reuters, reported that the Ara Pacis Museum, completed in 2006 by noted American architect Richard Meier, was in danger of being demolished or relocated to a suburban site.

Rome’s newly elected Mayor, Gianni Alemmano announced at a news conference in which he outlined his plans for Rome that “Meiers building is a construction to be scrapped.” Alemanno, later told TV audiences on the popular Italian show “Porta a Porta” that he would be holding a citywide referendum to allow Roman citizens to decide the fate of the Museum, the only modern structure built in the historical city center since Mussolini’s time and reportedly the third most visited site in Rome. According to the Mayor “It is an issue of compatibility: the [building] is in a baroque part of the city, and that style suits the area. It is not a priority, but I think that some interventions were excessively invasive”.