Rome to offer free entry to cinemas, libraries to help residents beat summer heat

• Rome will offer free entry to 11 air-conditioned cinemas and 11 libraries from July 23 to August 4 to help residents cope with the summer heatwave.
• The scheme provides climate refuges where people can watch 10 Italian films, with access on a first-come, first-served basis.
• City officials highlight the project’s aim to protect health, reduce isolation, and address rising temperatures, which have increased by 3°C since the 1980s in Rome.

ROME - Air-conditioned cinemas in Rome will offer free entry to help residents of the Italian capital struggling with intense summer heatwave, city officials said on July 22.

Running from July 23 to August 4, the scheme will turn 11 cinemas and 11 libraries into climate refuges.

The libraries in the scheme will also offer visitors water.

“Climate change is unfortunately a reality. It affects people’s lives, their health, their social interactions and their ability to do things during those hours and days,” Massimiliano Smeriglio, Rome’s Councillor for Culture, told reporters.

He added that the project aims to create places “where people can also overcome the isolation caused by not being able to stay outdoors”.

Organisers will screen 10 Italian films, with each film shown twice a day.

Entry will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to venue capacity.

Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri welcomed the scheme as a way of “enjoying a film and also finding relief from the heat”.

Rome’s average temperatures have risen by 3 deg C since the 1980s, compared with around 2 deg C in other European capitals, according to an ISTAT report published in June. AFP