The city known for its ancient monuments and baroque churches finally has two new contemporary art galleries worthy of the name, both designed by foreign women.

The MAXXI gallery in Rome will open its futuristic doors to the public Sunday. The Museum of Art for the XXIst century is one of a few ultra-modern buildings to find a place in Rome, where modern architecture has often been met with resentment. The three-day inauguration festivities began on Thursday with the presentation of the gallery to crowds of enthusiastic journalists and critics.

The new structure designed by the Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid juts out dramatically from the side of a former military barracks in a residential neighborhood outside the city center. Hadid was the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 2004.

http://www.maxxi.beniculturali.it

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