Now Gualtieri and Carocci are going head-to-head over the heat: free cinema versus Rome’s sweltering heat

Two similar initiatives, publicised just a few hours apart. On the one hand, the local council; on the other, the Cinema Troisi, the brainchild of Valerio Carrocci, a former member of Cinema America. The latter has officially launched its "Allerta fresco" event.  "This summer, the Cinema Troisi is transforming into a free climate-friendly haven: 35 films over five weeks of summer programming, refreshments in the auditorium and a brand-new cultural offering," they announce in a social media post. Throughout August, the cinema will offer free admission to under-25s, over-65s, pregnant women and people with disabilities. Everyone else will be able to enter at a reduced rate. 

The City Council is relaunching the initiative. “From today until 4 August, ‘Il Grande Freddo’ is underway – a new initiative by Roma Capitale in collaboration with ANEC Lazio,” reads a post by Mayor Roberto Gualtieri. Selected films will be shown free of charge every day during the hottest part of the day, with two screenings daily at 11 participating cinemas across the city, subject to availability. "It’s a way to protect oneself from the high temperatures, but also to combat the loneliness that affects so many people, especially in summer," says the mayor. "It’s also an opportunity to promote cinemas, which are valuable cultural institutions in which Roma Capitale continues to invest."

In the background lies a controversy that, in recent weeks, has centred on Gualtieri and the head of Cinema Troisi. “It would be very difficult to decide to support Gualtieri, with whom a rift is now imminent: the Metropolitan affair carries enormous weight,” said Carocci in recent weeks, following the go-ahead – which he had opposed for years – for the conversion of the former Metropolitan cinema on Via del Corso. The president of Piccolo America has received the support of a section of the Italian film industry, which is always very receptive to his appeals. So much so that various figures from the world of entertainment (Alessandro Borghi, Paolo Virzì, Luca Marinelli and others, to name but a few) have even signed a petition in his defence, stating that turning a cinema on Via del Corso into a shopping centre would be “an extremely serious matter”, and that Rome cannot be reduced to “asphalt” and “shabby shopping centres”. They went on to announce that if a list is formed to oppose “concrete”, “luxury student accommodation” and “property funds”, they will stand alongside Carocci. 

Tensions have eased following the City Council’s presentation of the technical regulations implementing the town plan. Carocci and Gualtieri have reached an agreement on the council’s confirmation of the 70 per cent requirement to maintain the socio-cultural use of cinemas and former cinemas in the city of Rome. The idea of the list has not yet been completely shelved. But for now, air conditioning is the priority.