We have read the documents a thousand times, breathed deeply, exulted and now we will also find the clarity to write it: WE WON!
After eleven years of struggle and hope, the legal battle over Cinema America has finally ended. The Council of State rejected the appeal presented by the property owner against the MIC because it was “manifestly unfounded”. We have certainty: America can no longer be demolished, converted, and will never become a building of parking lots and mini-apartments! The ruling confirms that the structure “represents a significant and rare testimony of a very specific moment in the relationship between the history of the evolution of cinematographic technique and the history of art and architecture”.
The building is still owned by Progetto Uno srl, a company that, after its closure in ’99, bought it in 2002 for about two million euros with the aim of turning it into parking lots and apartments. But the company is now required to bear the costs of restoration and conservation. A new phase opens up today: for too long the wound of degradation in Via Natale del Grande has remained open, due to a legal dispute advanced by private ownership and not due to protection by the MIC. We thank the residents and traders of Trastevere who have never stopped believing in this dream over the years. To those who have started to accept the idea of conversion out of exhaustion, we say that the time of waiting is over. Based on the work done in recent years, from the success of Cinema Troisi to becoming a Foundation, we have requested a meeting with the property owners to evaluate every viable path to reopen Cinema America as such. The owners remain free to reopen it, regardless of our commitment, as long as they respect the protection. The important thing is that America returns to being an active theater. We won in any case and we will always be happy to see it open again. There are no more excuses now: the destiny of America is now defined and we, as a Foundation, are available to reopen it.
Tonight open bar at Troisi from 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm!
