Piazza delle Cinque Scole is located in the historical center of Rome at the edge of the former Jewish ghetto. Through the intervention of a library on the northern edge of the piazza and a re-interpretation of its surrounding urban space, the project’s goal is to reactivate the piazza while maintaining a sensitivity to its history and context. The building is comprised of three main spaces: a large, open-air ground floor, a main library room with built-in furniture, and an intermediate space dedicated to special collections. The ground floor is sunken into the earth with stairs which can be used as a place for seating, gathering, and performing. On the opposite side of the piazza is an analogous sunken staircase to both block traffic and extend usable activity space. At its center is a small, solid pavillion, with views to the sky through a dome.