The Associated Press 
April 20, 2002

ROME (AP) - Rome on Sunday will inaugurate the largest concert hall complex 
in Europe - three separate theaters around an open-air arena designed by 
famed architect Renzo Piano.
 
The $140 million project, one of the largest undertaken in Rome since World 
War II, will give the Eternal City its first major-league auditorium. It will 
be used to showcase chamber music, opera, contemporary music, theater, 
ballet, and symphonic performances.
 
``For over 10 years, we have been working on this project - practically since 
1991,'' Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni said Saturday. ``It's a beautiful 
project.''
 
Called the ``Parco della Musica,'' or Music Park, the auditorium is much more 
than a concert hall.
 
Visitors to the complex near Rome's Olympic Stadium will also be able to see 
an archaeological exhibit, peruse the music library, stroll around the shops 
and gardens, and relax at restaurants and cafes.
 
``The auditorium is like Moby-Dick,'' said American rock 'n roll star Patti 
Smith, who is to perform Sunday during the daylong series of concerts to 
inaugurate the complex.
 
At a press conference Saturday, Smith said she'd dedicate her concert to Pope 
John Paul II. She kissed the hand of Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini, who 
blessed the auditorium at a benediction ceremony.
 
Architect Piano - who designed Paris' Pompidou center, the Potsdamer Platz 
redevelopment project in Berlin and galleries, malls and hotels around the 
world - said the auditorium has been his favorite project.
 
``The principle is that of a music box,'' Piano told reporters Saturday. ``It 
is born from the idea of a musical instrument with vibrations and resonance, 
more than just a host to concerts and dances.''
 
The project didn't come easily, however.
 
In 1997, a public works ministry balked at Piano's decision to use expensive 
laminated wood and special steel blends for the roof - a design that gives 
the structure it's unique instrument-like framework.
 
Piano eventually won out - although the spat, the discovery of a Roman-era 
villa during construction, political infighting and problems with contractors 
helped push the project's timeline back.
 
Only two of the three theaters will be open on Sunday; the last one - the 
largest - is still draped in scaffolding and won't open until December.
 
The complex was conceived to give Rome a top-notch concert hall.
 
``Until now, music in Rome lived one moment in a piazza, another in a church, 
another in a sports arena,'' Luciano Berio, Italy's foremost composer and the 
chairman of the new auditorium's board, said in an interview with the Rome 
daily La Repubblica.
 
Now, musicians will be able to choose from an outdoor arena that seats 3,000 
and three concert halls, which seat 700, 1,273 and 2,756 people respectively.
 
Overall, the complex covers 55,000 square meters (66,000 square yards), and 
officials said it had no rival in Europe.
 
The inauguration ceremony kicks off Sunday morning with Rome's National 
Academy of Santa Cecilia orchestra and choir presenting Rossini, Petrassi and 
Handel. In-house conductor Myung-Whun Chung will preside.
 
Concerts of different genres continue through the day, from classical to pop 
and rock 'n roll, with performances by British violinist Nigel Kennedy and 
Smith's closing gig at 2 a.m.
 
Officials promised accoustics wouldn't be a problem. They were on Saturday 
during the press conference.
 
Berio said the hall wasn't designed to be used with microphones - as it was 
for the briefing, making it nearly impossible to hear the speakers. He 
promised the problems weren't a result of bad acoustic design.