Rome’s Metropolitan Cinema: A New Chapter After 15 Years of Closure
ROME – After years of anticipation and delays, the saga of the former Metropolitan Cinema has reached a concrete turning point. The Capitoline Assembly has given its definitive approval to the program agreement for the redevelopment of the historic building on Via del Corso, which has been closed since 2010. The vote took place on Thursday, April 23, just days after the Urban Planning Commission’s approval, marking the conclusion of a process that lasted over fifteen years and spanned multiple administrations.
How the Former Cinema Will Be Transformed
The project envisions a significant transformation. The building will become a three-story commercial space but will retain a cultural component: a 100-seat hall is planned for screenings and events. This compromise between past and future aims to bring life back to a central space that has remained unused for years. The property, which had long awaited the opportunity to intervene, can now begin the redevelopment work, with the goal of revitalizing an important part of the historic center.
Bipartisan Political Support, With Nuances
The agreement was signed by Mayor Roberto Gualtieri and the President of the Lazio Region, Francesco Rocca, signaling an institutional convergence that led both the Democratic Party and Fratelli d’Italia to vote in the same direction, after months of clashes over the issue of closed cinemas.
From the Region, FdI councilor, Laura Corrotti, highlighted how this case represents an example of urban regeneration, emphasizing the importance of recovering the numerous closed cinemas in Lazio. According to PD councilor and president of the Culture Commission, Erica Battaglia, this is a decisive step that closes a complex matter and returns an abandoned space to citizens, with the aim of combating degradation and relaunching the cultural function of the place.
Enthusiasm also came from the property, which spoke of a long-awaited breakthrough after 16 years, emphasizing that the project is not limited to commercial redevelopment. In addition to the new cinema hall, 7 million euros in charges are allocated for the recovery of two other historic cinemas, the Airone and the Apollo, and the creation of approximately 60 jobs.
Campidoglio Cautions Against a Domino Effect
Despite the climate of consensus, an important clarification came from the Campidoglio. Councilors Maurizio Veloccia (Urban Planning) and Massimiliano Smeriglio (Culture) urged not to consider the Metropolitan case as a replicable model everywhere. According to the two members of the council, it is a specific solution, adopted to close a particularly long and complex administrative matter. The administration’s idea for the future is different: to transform cinemas that cannot reopen into hybrid cultural spaces, capable of hosting activities such as theater, music, literature, and study. This approach, they explain, will also be supported by new urban planning regulations, with the aim of ensuring a significant cultural presence (up to 70% of the spaces) in redevelopment projects, avoiding indiscriminate liberalization towards exclusively commercial functions.
A Rebirth, But With Caution
The reopening of the Metropolitan thus marks a symbolic passage for the center of Rome: a building closed for years returns to new life, but the debate on the future of cinemas remains open. Between market needs and cultural protection, the point of balance still seems to be built.
Source: https://urloweb.com/notizie/cronaca-di-roma/metropolitan-ok-alla-riconversione-dopo-15-anni/
