London's super-tall Shard skyscraper has propelled its Italian architect Renzo Piano to even greater heights. The 75-year-old Genoan was last week among four notable Italians elevated to Rome's senate. The news comes 13 years after the Pritzker Prize winner sketched his vision for Europe's tallest tower on a napkin and coincides with a new commission from Shard-backer Irvine Sellar for two residential buildings in London Bridge. The appointment by Italian president Giorgio Napolitano does not mean Piano will be wearing a toga, though voting rights in the Italian parliament's upper house may more than make up for this loss.
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