Historic Rome bar shuts down after eviction on 16 June.

Rome's Bar della Pace closed its doors definitively on 16 June after bailiffs evicted the Serafini family which managed the bar near Piazza Navona for more than half a century.

The evicton order was carried out on behalf of the building's landlord, the German Istituto Pontificio di S. Maria dell’Anima, which owns the church nearby.

The religious institution failed to renew the lease with the celebrity bar when it came to an end in 2009 and since then the situation deteriorated.

The protracted closure came despite several years of protests, promises of political intervention and support from the historic traders' association, not to mention the collection of 35,000 signatures to save Bar della Pace which first opened in 1891.

In its heyday from the 1960s the ivy-clad bar played host to many international celebrities, from Al Pacino to Madonna, who would rub shoulders with locals and tourists, and in 2012 it featured in Woody Allen’s movie To Rome with Love.

The future of the building is uncertain but reports by local media suggest that the owners intend to turn it into a hotel, like the one just across the street.