Since Monday in Italy, some cinemas can finally raise the curtain. After long negotiations between the State and the regions, an agreement was reached and new sanitary measures adopted. If social distancing is of course compulsory between people or groups, wearing a mask is no longer essential during the session.
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La Repubblica also reports that the consumption of food and drink, another sensitive point in the debate, is finally authorized. "This is an important step to allow the restart of the entertainment sector, which has been shutdown for almost four months, with a loss of more than 30 million spectators and a recovery course which will be gradual and will lead in a few weeks to a return to full capacity with new titles arriving in theaters, ” said Mario Lorini, president of the national association of cinema exhibitors (ANEC).
“Cinema in Italy can restart in the same way as on the main European markets, which shows that it is fully aligned with the aspect of spectator safety and the protection of our employees. We are now thinking of an important communication campaign to support reopening cinemas. City cinemas, multi-screen cinemas, open-air arenas, exhibitors will gradually reopen to welcome the public, ” he announced to the daily newspaper.
A multiplex in Rome, outdoors in Turin
Despite this reopening, not everyone is staying in the same boat. In the Eternal City, only the multiplex in the Porta di Roma shopping center is ready to welcome people. Il Messaggero indicates that the films screened will first be those that were released recently, or not at all, at the time of confinement such as Sonic or En avant . For Mulan , Tenet, Wonder Woman and the other blockbusters planned for this summer, we will have to wait until the end of August.
In Turin, on the other hand, the open-air arenas are a privileged project. “We are not ready for a reopening. Turin will offer a wide range thanks to the arenas and people will prefer to stay in the open air , ” said Lorenzino Ventavoli at Corriere , which is curating the interests of three cinemas in the Piedmontese capital. One of these arenas should be located in the Valentino park, the city's largest green space, while another could be set up in Piazza Castello in the center.