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Piano builds on reputation
SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO, Italy (CNN) – Italian architect Renzo Piano is set to further his reputation as a genius with the design of a Catholic church for the recently-canonised Padre Pio. Construction for the church in Padre Pio's home town of San Giovanni Rotondo was begun in 1995, and is already being called a masterpiece. "Padre Pio de Pietreicina, when living, wanted to construct a large church, there was this dream of a great church and so we thought about a great architect," said Father Gerardo Saldutto. "We turned to one of the best architects of these times -- Renzo Piano." The followers of Padre Pio believe he was the first priest in centuries to bear stigmata, Christ's bleeding wounds from the nails and spear of his crucifixion. It has also been claimed Padre Pio could read souls, perform miracles and predict the future. Padre Pio was canonised by Pope John Paul II in June 2002, 30 years after his death. Determined to build a church suitable for Padre Pio, the fathers would fax Piano every morning for a month, with a personal blessing and request for him to accept the commission. "I thought: those Capuchin [monks] are obstinate, they know how to get their way," he told CNN. "That was the funny side of this story because we are asked to design that church and the church was an immense church, 10,000 people." "To design a place of calm of silence and meditation for 10,000 people is very difficult." Piano's method of construction, using modern technology and traditional craftsmanship, comes from his father's encouragement that being a builder, rather than an architect, was a more skilled occupation. "A builder is like a god. A builder takes and makes, an architect just takes and just throws," said Piano, the son of a Genoese builder. "I guess my inspiration comes very much from the place, it comes from the interwoven of science and technology, I love construction, I think there is a poetic about construction." Piano's other iconic buildings are not religious in themselves, but draw inspiration from their religious surroundings. Piano, the most famous of Italian architects, first made his mark in France, where his Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris sits near Saint-Merri Church. "Piano said that this [design, where] the weight is on the outside is not only a technical approach, but it is also a classical and aesthetic approach which connects with the way that Gothic buildings are built with things which hold the buildings from the outside," said Alfred Pacquement, director of the museum in the Pompidou Centre. While the academics were initially critical, the public response was different. "The public success of the building was really the best response," Pacquement said. "The public liked it, they went in immediately and I remember ... when the building opened and we were happy but at the same time frightened to see so many people come to the building." Piano's future work could include London Bridge Tower, overlooking historic St Paul's in the city's financial heart. It will be the tallest building in Britain, a shard of glass piercing London's skyline, but has already raised concerns. English Heritage, the organisation that conserves historic buildings, is afraid this potential icon will eclipse the established icon of St Paul's Cathedral – a claim rebuffed by Piano. "This building is not overlapping Saint Paul's from any point of view," he said. "People must accept that there are different expressions of the culture, of the moment."
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