Sophisticated virtual technology will be used to project images and colours onto one of ancient Rome's monuments, in this unique event.The Ara Pacis, the emperor Augustus's altar to peace, is being restored to what could have been its original colours for a series of evening openings from February to April.
Ara Pacis will be available to view between 20:00 to 23:00 (last entrance at 22:00) on:
Friday 26, Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 February 2010
Friday 26, Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 March 2010
Friday 23, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 April 2010
An exhibition about one of Italy's best-loved musicians, Fabrizio de André, is on show in the exhibition space under the Ara Pacis. Tickets to an evening view of the Ara Pacis in colour, as well as entrance to the museum, costs EUR9 (reduced tickets are EUR7).
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is a long-planned new central museum complex for Cairo and Egypt, intended to replace the Egyptian Museum - founded in 1902 - as the main venue for the country's abundant heritage treasures. It'll be sited on 50 hectares of land in Giza, as a core part of a new master plan for the plateau.
The GEM project began as far back as 1992, but has been slow in coming to fruition - the foundation stone was only laid a decade later, and the museum isn't expected to be opened until as early as mid-2012. It'll be a massive structure once completed - shaped like a chamfered triangle, with a stone roof, the GEM will boast 100,000 square metres of floor space – the size of 11 football pitches – with provision for up to 100,000 artefacts at full capacity. It's expected to cost in the region of $550 million.
