Rome's huge performing arts center—a startling complex designed by superstar architect Renzo Piano—is the success story of recent years, shaking up the city's once-sleepy cultural scene.
The three state-of-the-art concert halls, plus hyperactive bookshops, restaurants, bars, and outdoor performance area, are located about 15 minutes out of the city in a northern suburb.
The venue is packed day and night with a variegated crowd drawn by a truly eclectic, democratic program ranging from the highest of highbrow classical through folk, jazz, world music, and electronic crossover.