Extra finances result of protest by festival organisers

Rome is to provide an additional €600,000 to the organisers of Estate Romana, under whose banner a range of festivals take place in the capital each summer.

Rome's mayor Ignazio Marino bowed to pressure following a protest at the Campidoglio by the cash-strapped festival organisers, who were joined by artists, actors and musicians on 17 June. The funding is due to be approved by the city assembly on 20 June, with preference reportedly being shown towards the better-established events.

The festivals expected to benefit from the funds include FontanoneEstate, Dall'Ombra del Colosseo and Roma Jazz Festival, as well as the theatres Anfitrione, Italia, Cometa, Dè Servi, Testaccio and Ghione. Until now none of these festivals or theatres had published their summer programmes.

However the Corriere della Sera newspaper reports that some festival organisers are unhappy with the amount of funding already allocated, such as the open-air Notte di Cinema a Piazza Vittorio whose €44,000 is “just about enough to pay for security”. The newspaper also reported that among the festivals ready for a fight with the city over funding are Trend, dedicated to contemporary British theatre, and the gay theatre festival Garofano Verde, both normally based at Teatro Belli in Trastevere.

For future updates check the Roma Estate website and for all events in Rome this summer see the What's On section of Wanted in Rome.

Photo Corriere della Sera