Modern revamp of Rome's Antiquarium sparks heritage row

Conservationists brand €10m restoration near the Colosseum an "abomination" but city officials defend it as "sign of modernity". A €10 million restoration project to resurrect Rome's long-abandoned Antiquarium near the Colosseum has sparked a row between heritage campaigners and the city's superintendency, after plans emerged for a glass-and-steel structure. The Antiquarium Comunale del Celio - which was originally built to conserve and display the numerous artefacts being unearthed during excavations in the late 19th century - sits on the Caelian hill directly opposite the entrance to the Palatine. Its present form dates back to the late 1920s, when the building was extended through a series of adjoining volumes added to an earlier structure. In the 1930s, construction of the city's Metro B line caused severe damage, both from vibrations and because the building stood on unstable made-up ground. Repairs promised by the metro's contractor never materialised once world war two broke out, and the Antiquarium was left to decay, gradually swallowed by vegetation for more than eight decades. Restoration works The restoration, funded through the PNRR-Caput Mundi recovery scheme, was outlined this week by Federico Gigli, an architect with Rome's Sovrintendenza, during a hearing of the first municipality's Jubilee-PNRR committee. Gigli described the intervention as a clear marker of contemporary design, combining new glass and steel elements - used for the pillars and roof slab - with the surviving historic fabric. Works under way at Rome's former Antiquarium building which, after lying abandoned for almost a century, is being restored as part of a regeneration of the Caelian Hill. pic.twitter.com/GvLTsZAY6k — Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) February 16, 2026 The Sovrintendenza has framed the approach as structural conservation work intended to preserve the building's authenticity. Plans also include a rooftop terrace and café offering views towards the Colosseum. The work is taking place in tandem with plans to open up new areas of the Caelian hill. Criticism The proposal has provoked criticism from the heritage protection association Italia Nostra. Oreste Rutigliano, president of its Rome branch, questioned the inclusion of a café on the site and suggested the late environmentalist and Italia Nostra co-founder Antonio Cederna would be dismayed by the plans. City councillor Nathalie Naim also voiced alarm on Facebook, warning that the project would have a jarring effect on the surrounding landscape. Her public comments drew a wave of critical responses, with some describing the design as a monstrosity and an eyesore. Naim questioned whether the culture ministry was upholding its duty of protection in an area subject to some of Italy's strictest heritage safeguards. According to a report in newspaper Corriere della Sera, the Sovrintendenza authorised the project however sign-off rested with technical officials, under the Draghi government's simplification rules for PNRR building sites. Photo Wanted in Rome

WIRE — Conservationists brand €10m restoration near the Colosseum an "abomination" but city officials defend it as "sign of modernity". A €10 million restoration project to resurrect Rome's long-abandoned Antiquarium near the Colosseum has sparked a row between heritage campaigners and the city's superintendency, after plans emerged for a glass-and-steel structure. The Antiquarium Comunale del Celio - which was originally built to conserve and display the numerous artefacts being unearthed during excavations in the late 19th century - sits on the Caelian hill directly opposite the entrance to the Palatine. Its present form dates back to the late 1920s, when the building was extended through a series of adjoining volumes added to an earlier structure. In the 1930s, construction of the city's Metro B line caused severe damage, both from vibrations and because the building stood on unstable made-up ground. Repairs promised by the metro's contractor never materialised once world war two broke out, and the Antiquarium was left to decay, gradually swallowed by vegetation for more than eight decades. Restoration works The restoration, funded through the PNRR-Caput Mundi recovery scheme, was outlined this week by Federico Gigli, an architect with Rome's Sovrintendenza, during a hearing of the first municipality's Jubilee-PNRR committee. Gigli described the intervention as a clear marker of contemporary design, combining new glass and steel elements - used for the pillars and roof slab - with the surviving historic fabric. Works under way at Rome's former Antiquarium building which, after lying abandoned for almost a century, is being restored as part of a regeneration of the Caelian Hill. pic.twitter.com/GvLTsZAY6k — Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) February 16, 2026 The Sovrintendenza has framed the approach as structural conservation work intended to preserve the building's authenticity. Plans also include a rooftop terrace and café offering views towards the Colosseum. The work is taking place in tandem with plans to open up new areas of the Caelian hill. Criticism The proposal has provoked criticism from the heritage protection association Italia Nostra. Oreste Rutigliano, president of its Rome branch, questioned the inclusion of a café on the site and suggested the late environmentalist and Italia Nostra co-founder Antonio Cederna would be dismayed by the plans. City councillor Nathalie Naim also voiced alarm on Facebook, warning that the project would have a jarring effect on the surrounding landscape. Her public comments drew a wave of critical responses, with some describing the design as a monstrosity and an eyesore. Naim questioned whether the culture ministry was upholding its duty of protection in an area subject to some of Italy's strictest heritage safeguards. According to a report in newspaper Corriere della Sera, the Sovrintendenza authorised the project however sign-off rested with technical officials, under the Draghi government's simplification rules for PNRR building sites. Photo Wanted in Rome

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