A group of community representatives has begun collecting signatures for a petition to re-open Rome's Luna Park Permanente di Roma, better known as Luneur, in the EUR district. Some of the group recently campaigned successfully against plans to stage the Formula 1 race in EUR.

Organisers say they are receiving broad support among people in Rome who are keen to see the return of Italy's oldest amusement park. They claim that those living in the area are nostalgic for the past but also fed up of the current situation; since it closed on 20 April 2008 rubbish has accumulated on the site and the lake is home to swarms of mosquitoes.

Designed as a temporary feature to coincide with an agricultural fair in 1953, the park became a permanent fixture due to its unexpected level of popularity, opening all year round after Rome hosted the Olympic Games in 1960. In the year prior to its sudden closure the park and its old-fashioned roller coasters, many of them quite rickety, underwent extensive renovations and additional safety measures were introduced.