The Auditorium di Renzo Piano is built on the site of an old sugar refinery which has been completely renovated. It is the most important building for public use in the old Eridania-Barilla and was meant to increase the prestige of Parma as an international music centre. Architect Renzo Piano designed the auditorium and planned the demolition of two factories to create a kind of visual telescope, with two large windows enclosing the foyer and the music room. This ambitious project cost in the region of 27 billion lira and was completed in 2001.