Renzo Piano appointed senator for life

Architect Renzo Piano named life senator by Italian president Giorgio Napolitano.

30 August 2013, 12:00am
by Staff Reporter

1 min read

Renzo Piano (right) with former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi (centre) and Kate Gonzi.

The architect of Malta's controversial Valletta City Gate project, Renzo Piano has been appointed life senator by the Italian president.

The 75-year-old Italian architect became a household name in Malta after being commissioned to design the new Valletta City Gate project, which includes a new parliament and the renovation of the Royal Opera House, which was inaugurated earlier this month.

However, Renzo Piano's reputation as one of the best architects alive dates back to 1971 when together with British architect Richard Rogers he designed the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

Piano's other works include Europe's tallest skyscraper, The Shard, in London, the Auditorium in Rome, the Nemo Science Centre in Amsterdam and the Living Roof of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

In 2006, Piano was selected by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Today, Italian president Giorgio Napolitano named Renzo Piano, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Carlo Rubbia, conductor Claudio Abbado and stem-cell pioneer Elenea Cattaneo life Senators.

They join ex-Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and former premier Mario Monti in the honorary office in the upper house.

Napolitano said he was filling the gaps left by the deaths of seven-time Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, former Prime Minister Emilio Colombo and car designer Sergio Pininfarina over the last 12 months.

More from Staff Reporter

Luke Camilleri •

Certament ma hadhux fuq il-mertu fuq il -perkacc ta' Gonzi , il-progett li gie ikkumissjonat jghamel ghal Malta , it-Teatru bla saqaf u il-binja barumbara STATE-OF-THE-ART... bil passiggieri tal-hammiem mat-twieqi! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Li rnexielu Gonzi hu li heles minn Pjazza Helsien bit-timbru ta' Renzo Piano! Kieku kellu naqra sens ma kien jghamel xejn Barumbara u kien ikollhu saqaf ghal tjatru u pjazza sabiha fil genb tieghu! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~# Imma Gonzi rasu iebsa u minn flusna irridu nhallsuh u mhux minn tieghu jew mill fondi tal -Partit tieghu!

•

Piano destroyed our Capital City's Heritage forever and now he is appointed Senator for Life in Italy. Thanks to the PN and Piano who callously destroyed our beautiful Valletta, the appointment of Piano to Senator in Italy should be followed by the arraignment of those who so abused of our heritage and paid Piano enormous sums out of Taxpayer's money for a Parliament which was found to be severely deficient before even completion, to a Theatre that is roofless and open to all the elements, and to the destruction of so many historical sites under Valletta to achieve this above ground destruction.

•

President of Filfla should be enough.

John Mifsud •

These are clearly political appointments intended to give the Left the majority of Senate seats denied to them by the electorate.

•

We should follow and appoint Austin Gatt president of of Filfla or Comino for life AND MAKE SURE HE STAYS THERE

•

In my opinion he lost his reputation in Malta.