Behind the scenes of politics, from Wanna Marchi to Majorana’s car. A series of improbable events

At the Campidoglio, ‘the home of all Romans’, as Mayor Gualtieri has often described it, officials have realised that an open house requires at least a guest list. Following the International Culture Award presented to Wanna Marchi and Stefania Nobile, Roma Capitale has announced tighter controls on the booking of the three Capitoline halls: Protomoteca, Laudato Sì and Carroccio. More thorough checks on programmes, organisers and participants will be introduced, along with a general review of the procedures used to assess applications.

The Protomoteca was made available for the award ceremony – the same hall where Emma Bonino’s funeral took place. The award, conceived by the publisher Alessandro Gian Maria Ferri and the entrepreneur Silvestro Muccillo, was a private initiative, and access to the Campidoglio was arranged by Dario Nanni, a councillor for the Mixed Group, who later stated that he had not been informed of the winners’ names.

In any case, the involvement of a councillor is not required for the application. It may be submitted directly by non-profit organisations, voluntary organisations, political parties, trade unions, professional bodies or groups of at least fifty citizens. Nanni maintains that going via a councillor is a common practice, used by both the majority and the opposition. His signature would not, in any case, have made the Award a municipal event.

Requests for one of the three rooms must be submitted to the Cabinet’s Internal Ceremonial Office at least thirty days before the event and no more than six months in advance. The application must be accompanied by the liability form, the content report, the list of speakers and participants, the programme, the draft invitation, details of any staging requirements and the document identifying the person responsible. The application is then forwarded to the Head of the Cabinet, who is responsible for granting formal authorisation.

As a rule, the licence is subject to a fee, with rates set annually by the local council. Exemption from the fee is an exception that the mayor may grant for events of particular social or cultural value, organised by non-profit organisations. In the case of the Marchi and Nobile Prize, it therefore remains to be ascertained whether a fee was charged or an exemption granted, and on what legal basis.

The stated rationale is that of a public initiative, not the hire of a venue. The regulations prohibit performances, commercial activities and profit-making initiatives, as well as petitions, fund-raising and the sale of goods, books or services. They also provide for the refusal of events that are manifestly incompatible with constitutional principles or capable of turning public halls into venues for ideological polarisation.

One’s thoughts immediately turn to Montecitorio, the home of far-fetched initiatives. In July, the Democratic Party group proposed amending the regulations governing the use of the press room and other conference facilities, introducing a requirement for the MP proposing the initiative and for those involved to sign a declaration of commitment to upholding the Constitution.

The reason was the granting – subsequently revoked – of the press room to CasaPound for the launch of a petition calling for legislation to curb immigration. In that instance, the intermediary was MP Domenico Forgiuele, a former member of the Lega who had joined Futuro Nazionale. In the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, parliamentary mediation is in fact mandatory. An organisation or private individual cannot make a booking themselves, but must approach a Member of Parliament or a Senator to submit the request.

Although the PD’s proposal has not formally come into effect, the Chamber of Deputies has nevertheless issued a statement clarifying that the MP who tabled the proposal remains responsible for the initiative.

Over the years, with the exception of fascists, Montecitorio has seen a bit of everything, given that every MP can offer their constituents and allied organisations a few hours’ access to the building.

The presentation of “Mino cane fortunato”, organised by Martina Semenzato of Noi Moderati, was unforgettable, with Mino in attendance – who was even lifted onto the speakers’ table at one point. However, the quintessential four-legged (institutional) event took place at the Campidoglio. It was the Penna d’Oca awards, once again held in the Sala della Protomoteca, with prizes for animal lovers. Among the winners were Enzo Salvi, the street artist Moby Dick, and the influencers Joy Barboncino Toy and Marley SuperCane. In 2025 alone, the Protomoteca also hosted the ‘Antenna d’Oro’ for television, the ‘Microfono d’Oro’ for radio and the ‘Parola d’Oro’ for courteous communication. 

There is also a whole ‘scientific’ strand, almost always devoted to vaccines. In 2017, MP Adriano Zaccagnini, then a member of the newly formed Mdp, organised a conference billed as ‘L’altra verità sui vaccini’, later renamed ‘Libertà di scelta per vaccinarsi in sicurezza’. In 2019, it was Sara Cunial who brought the anti-vaccine association Corvelva to the Chamber of Deputies. The following year, she returned to the press room with a conference on the consequences of mass vaccinations. As for bioethics, in January 2024, League MP Simone Billi endorsed a meeting organised by the Machiavelli Study Centre on abortion and euthanasia, after which he distanced himself from the speakers’ arguments. In the Senate, in 2016, former Five Star Movement member Bartolomeo Pepe had secured a room to screen Vaxxed, Andrew Wakefield’s anti-vaccination documentary, but the booking was subsequently cancelled.

The Pergola White Truffle Fair and the Rieti World Chilli Fair were also presented in the Chamber of Deputies’ press room. Not to mention the gathering of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill fans or the book that reinterpreted Napoleon and Montesquieu through astrological alignments.

Space is also given to motorbikes. In February 2025, Giandonato La Salandra, of Fratelli d’Italia, tabled a bill on ‘motorbike culture’ and the subsequent parliamentary cross-party group for Harley-Davidson enthusiasts.

Things weren’t much better in the Senate. One need only mention the meeting organised in October 2025 by Gian Marco Centinaio on the so-called Majorana machine, a device potentially capable of annihilating matter, producing inexhaustible energy, transforming matter into gold and rejuvenating.

Given what’s happening elsewhere, things haven’t gone all that badly at the Campidoglio.