Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg appeal to Giorgia Meloni to save Rome’s cinemas

A new Italian law could convert up to 50 of Rome’s oldest and closed cinemas into shopping centres, supermarkets and hotels.

Famed Italian architect Renzo Piano, who designed the Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Shard in London, stated that cinemas are “the last lungs of oxygen for our cities, which are increasingly saturated with cars, shopping malls, hotels, and vacation homes”. 

The 87-year-old architect shared a letter to la Repubblica, whose appeal to save cinemas - some of which date back to the 1930s - has been endorsed by filmmakers including Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Jane Campion, Spike Lee and Francis Ford Coppola. 

They have ­appealed to prime minister Giorgia Meloni and Italian president Sergio Mattarella to block the plan that would represent “a profound sacrilege”. 

“The attempt to repurpose spaces intended for the possible cultural renaissance of the eternal city into hotels, shopping centres and supermarkets is utterly unacceptable,” reads an open ­letter co-signed by other filmmakers like David Cronenberg, Yorgos Lanthimos, Todd Haynes, Wes Anderson and Ken Loach, as well as actors like Isabella Rossellini, Mark Ruffalo and Léa Seydoux. 

“Such a transformation would represent an irrevocable loss - a profound sacrilege not only to the city’s rich ­history, but also to the culture legacy for future generations,” the letter adds. "It’s our duty to transform these abandoned "cathedrals in the desert" into true temples of culture, places capable of nourishing the souls of both present and future generations.” 

Over 500 filmmakers have signed an appeal in the Italian press, including Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera, who was also joined by Italy’s top football player Francesco Totti.  

The former AS Roma captain stated that "the cinemas of our childhood cannot become more shopping malls”, describing movie theatres as "places of memories, of magic, of daydreams." 

"Remembering moments as teenagers and kids spent at the cinema is a tradition and a value that we must pass on to the new generations" Totti said. "We need places for sports, culture, kindergartens and schools, not more shopping malls." 

The government of the Lazio region, which hosts the Italian capital, will vote next week on the fate of these treasured cultural institutions. 

Additional sources • la Repubblica