Italian Culture Councillors Urge Government to Protect Performing Arts from New COVID Restrictions

On October 10, 2020, 500 stage trunks occupied Piazza Duomo in Milan in a peaceful protest by performing arts workers against potential new COVID-19 restrictions. The protest preceded the October 12-13 DPCM signed by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Health Minister Roberto Speranza, which maintained existing anti-COVID measures for cinemas, theaters, live performances, fairs, and congresses. Culture councillors from major Italian cities—including Rome's Luca Bergamo, Milan's Filippo Del Corno, Naples' Eleonora de Majo, Genoa's Barbara Grosso, Turin's Francesca Paola Leon, Florence's Tommaso Sacchi, Bologna's Matteo Lepore, Ancona's Paolo Marasca, Bari's Ines Pierucci, and Cagliari's Paola Piroddi—sent an appeal to the government before the decree, citing European Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni's call for cultural renaissance. They argued that the performing arts sector has rigorously followed safety protocols, with AGIS statistics proving low infection risk, and requested that any new restrictions maintain proportionality based on venue capacity rather than a fixed 200-person limit, which they deemed economically unsustainable. Florence's culture councillor Tommaso Sacchi expressed satisfaction that the DPCM preserved regional ordinances allowing proportional audience limits, and urged regional presidents to maintain or introduce new derogations without restrictive measures.