With “Cinema in Piazza,” Piccolo America brings Roman summer nights to life with free outdoor cinema under the stars. For the 2024 edition, the squares of San Cosimato, Parco della Cervelletta, and Monte Ciocci will once again host this event. These three locations, from the city center to the outskirts, offer free entry with no reservations needed.
If outdoor cinema is a dream, we dream alongside the young people of Piccolo America. Three screens with a total seating area of 8,000 square meters will come alive for two months with film screenings, discussions with directors, actors, screenwriters, and crew members, as well as retrospectives, great classics from national and international cinema, and films for children.
Moreover, numerous international guests will join from around the world to reconnect directly with the audience. Some notable names include James Franco, Edward Norton, Damien Chazelle, Walter Salles, and also italians Paolo Sorrentino, Alessandro Borghi, Luca Marinelli, and Carlo Verdone.
Cinema in Piazza: The Piccolo America Story
A group of young people from the outskirts of Rome, after mapping abandoned spaces in the city and holding months of meetings with Trastevere residents, launched a campaign on November 13, 2012, to save the historic Cinema America from being turned into parking lots and apartments. Two years later, after halting the demolition of the historic theater built in 1956 and designed by architect Angelo Di Castro, they reopened a small abandoned bakery, generously provided by some residents, and transformed it into a Piccolo Cinema D’Essai.
With the support of legendary directors like Bernardo Bertolucci, Franco Rosi, and Ettore Scola, they continued their mission to preserve Rome’s historic cinemas. These were not cinephiles or film students, but passionate young people who began “coloring” the city’s monuments, squares, and outskirts with cinematic masterpieces. This journey eventually brought them back to San Cosimato, the square where they first fought to save Cinema America, bringing it to life for sixty nights.
Their efforts saw them move from alley to alley, facing numerous challenges. After three years of hard work and dedication to Trastevere, they expanded their reach to other parts of the city, illuminating neighborhoods like Ostia, Tor Sapienza, and Valle Aurelia with their “Cinema in Piazza” initiative. Today, Piccolo America is a foundation that, on September 21, 2021, proudly inaugurated Cinema Troisi! This unique space, located on Via Girolamo Induno in Trastevere, features a cinema hall that remains open and vibrant even when the projector is off, thanks to Italy’s first 24/7 study hall, open 365 days a year.
Cinema in Piazza: Your Guide to the Event Schedule
To see the full schedule of events and initiatives, visit cinemainpiazza.it. To learn more about the Piccolo America Foundation and its initiatives, click here.
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