Calls grow for transfer of Limassol’s Rialto theatre to municipality

Limassol, Cyprus. Calls to transfer ownership of Rialto theatre from the state to Limassol municipality are intensifying, amid concern that the government appears to be postponing a cabinet decision on the municipality’s proposal.

Proposal for independent operation

Rialto, working with Limassol municipality, is calling on the government to transfer ownership so the theatre can operate independently. In a press release, the theatre said it belongs to the people of Limassol, highlighting its long history and the festivals it hosts.

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Limassol mayor Yiannis Armeftis said the transfer would benefit the state, the municipality and the theatre. He said an independent board would find it easier to secure funding, while the municipality, which has experience managing theatres, would cover half the expenses in any case.

Funding concerns

Dafni Pitta Diogenous, chairwoman of the board of directors, said the state subsidy accounted for less than 20 per cent of Rialto’s total budget and that securing additional funding was currently difficult.

Former chairman Kikis Kazamias echoed support for the transfer, saying it would be fair to hand the theatre over to the municipality following the dissolution of the cooperative bank.

From cinema to state ownership

Rialto was originally built as a modern cinema in 1930. Following its decline in the 1980s, it was bought by the Limassol cooperative bank in 1991.

The bank carried out restoration work and reopened the theatre in 1999. Rialto passed into state ownership in 2018, when the cooperative was dissolved.