Italian entertainer posts signs at historic theater, calls sale a "crime" against Italian entertainment history.
12:47 PM
Fiorello posted a video on Instagram showing himself and colleague Biggio affixing signs to the entrance of Teatro delle Vittorie in Rome's Via Col di Lana on Sunday. The signs read "This theater is not for sale" and "This theater should not be sold."
The theater, located in Rome, has been put up for sale by RAI, Italy's public broadcaster. The sale prompted Fiorello to voice his opposition publicly. "It is a crime against the history of Italian entertainment," Fiorello said in the video. "This theater should not be sold, one should not even think of selling it, for what has been experienced inside, for the great variety shows, the great Fantastico programs by Pippo Baudo, and then Raffaella Carrà, Mina. All the greats of entertainment have been here."
The theater has hosted numerous prominent Italian entertainers and television programs throughout its history. Pippo Baudo conducted major variety and entertainment shows there. Raffaella Carrà, Mina, and Adriano Celentano are among the performers who have appeared at the venue. In recent years, Stefano De Martino hosted the game show Affari Tuoi at the theater. In August, the theater served as the location for Pippo Baudo's lying-in-state ceremony.
Renzo Arbore, another prominent figure in Italian entertainment, had called for action regarding the theater's sale in an interview published by Il Messaggero on April 26. Arbore described the decision to sell the theater as "disheartening" and specifically called on Fiorello to mobilize and relocate his program "La Pennicanza" to the venue.
Fiorello announced that Sunday's episode of La Pennicanza would broadcast from Teatro delle Vittorie, beginning at 1:45 p.m.
RAI stated that the sale decision was driven by excessive management costs associated with operating the theater.
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