Italy's ugly voting booths for President spark design outrage

Massimiliano Tonelli criticizes the newly installed voting booths for the Italian President election at Montecitorio as an architectural disgrace, worse than the previous 30-year-old catafalques. He notes that booths have only existed since 1992, when then-President of the Chamber Scalfaro introduced them to appease Marco Pannella's concerns over secret ballot. Tonelli argues that given COVID and the inability to design a decent temporary structure, it would have been better to have no booths at all, returning to pre-1990s practice. He suggests the old booths deserved permanent display at Triennale di Milano's Design Museum for their rationalist and decò references. The article implies the current design fails to uphold Italy's aesthetic dignity.