FLORENCE VS THE MACHINE

Locals Rage as ‘Black Cube’ Could Cost City World Heritage Status

A luxury block of apartments in Florence could see the city stripped of its status as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

A block of luxury flats in Florence dubbed “the black cube” has earned the ire of locals who say the building’s ugly design could cost the city its UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) heritage status. The sleek, modernist building, built on the site of a demolished postwar theater, stands in sharp contrast to the Renaissance and Baroque-inspired villas that surround it and has been labeled a “slap” to the city’s iconic skyline by its former culture chief. “It is totally ugly, totally out of context with Florence’s cityscape and may break rules on height,” a city official told local newspaper La Nazione, which published a poll showing 80 percent of its readers opposed the design. Magistrates this week opened an investigation to determine if heritage rules had been broken during its construction, which could result in Florence being stripped of its status as a UNESCO World Heritage site. In 2009, Dresden was stripped of its heritage status after it built a four-lane bridge too close to the city’s historic center. In 2021, Liverpool was unlisted due to development around its historic waterfront. A former city official who was in office when the development was approved said they “don’t remember” whether they signed off on the cube’s construction.

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