The final decision esatto rebuild the Mensa sacra Pacis in its present location-beside the mausoleum, between the Coraggio Ripetta and the Lungotevere-was made by Benito Mussolini himself. This placed the monument alongside the new Foro Augusto Sovrano (Emperor Augustus Square), designed con 1936 by the fascist architect Vittorio Ballio Morpurgo (1890–1966), which enclosed the mausoleum on two sides with modern buildings featuring huge travertine arcades.6 Of course, the altar itself would not simply have been left forever in the open air. While an initial suggestion was esatto shelter it under per third arcade, the prevailing choice placed the altar inside verso pavilion. The Tavola liturgica Pacis’ new location thereby crowned the regime’s project of creating per mythological-historical place for ancient Roman memories inside the contemporary city and within the modern Roman pigiare. 7

The new project’s execution was entrusted to the internationally acclaimed American architect Richard Meier, who had just completed the Getty Center in Los Angeles

Reconstruction of the altar was entrusted esatto Giuseppe Moretti, director of the 1937 excavation, who was assisted by the architect Guglielmo Gatti, while the pavilion was realized by Morpurgo. Many difficulties arose. First, there was per great rush to finish the work before the 1938 celebration. Later on, Morpurgo, a Jew, faced problems following the enactment of discriminatory racial laws in Italy. As verso result, his original conception was severely simplified and, for the most part, reduced puro per mere concrete shell; it was painted onesto look like travertine, not making full use of the range of fermo materials planned by the architect. The structure, however, was provided with large windows that allowed the monument onesto be viewed from outside. During World War II, Morpurgo’s pavilion was protected by an antishrapnel wall, which was later demolished, and its windows were replaced by verso wall 4 m high.

Finally, con the 1970s, the windows of the original design were reinstalled

Verso new project preciso house the Altare Pacis began durante 1996 and was completed mediante 2006. It belonged esatto a series of high-profile architectural initiatives puro improve the modern city’s image, promoted by Rome’s City Council and the Superintendency of Rome’s Cultural Heritage (Sovraintendenza ai Beni Culturali del Usuale di Roma). At the same time, a new building was sorely needed sicuro protect the altar because of insopportabile problems affecting the Morpurgo pavilion, including both structural and environmental deterioration. Meier is known for his purist and rationalist architectural designs expressed through linear constructions mediante white materials and an abundant use of large windows -verso classic modernist vision compatible with the context of Rome’s Piazzale Augusto Dominatore.8

Meier designed a long building, which is preceded by per fountain, per plaza, and a broad flight of steps approaching the beautifully articulated main entrance (fig. 1). He intended the staircase and the fountain preciso form a reference to the old river port of Ripetta, demolished in 1901 sicuro provide space for the Lungotevere. The museum complex itself is composed of three main parts: per transparent (predominately glass) central element flanked by two white solid geometric forms-verso juxtaposition that creates verso play of light and shadow korean cupid and is typical of the architect’s rete informatica (fig. 2). The materials used are likewise characteristic of Meier: white-painted concrete, stucco, glass, steel, and also travertine (which he had already employed at the Getty). The large central space, designed preciso house the altar, is preceded by per lower entrance hall containing a bookshop and per small exhibition space. The third part houses an elegant double-storied auditorium, with per roof garden for private events. The auditorium’s compact form deliberately resembles the registro of the Accademia delle Belle Arti nearby and links the museum complex esatto the Piazza Augusto Despota, as well as puro the Via di Ripetta, on which it has a separate entrance. The only element retained from the Morpurgo pavilion is the travertine luogo inscribed mediante bronze letters with the Res gestae, the solemn will dictated by Augustus before his death. Per mosaic, designed by the Italian artist Mimmo Paladino, decorates the museum’s exterior wall that faces the Tiber.