Italy: Rome to rename Globe Theatre after Gigi Proietti

Rome: Rome is to rename the city’s Globe Theatre after Gigi Proietti, the much-loved actor, director and comedian who died on his 80th birthday.

The decision was announced on November 3 by Rome mayor Virginia Raggi in a decision taken in collaboration with the Silvano Toti Foundation which financed the theatre’s construction in 2003.

Built in just three months, in the heart of the capital’s Villa Borghese park, the theatre was the result of an idea by Proietti who was the artistic director of the popular Shakespearean festival each summer.

“We want to pay homage to him by dedicating to him one of the places that he was dearest to him” – said Raggi in a tweet – “Our city wants to remember him forever like this.”

The theatre is a full-scale timber reproduction of Shakespeare’s Globe, copied from the original oak and thatch designs, and almost identical to the one that stands on London’s South Bank.

Proietti’s funeral will take place at the Chiesa degli Artisti in Piazza del Popolo, without the public, to avoid any crowds due to the covid-19 protocols. There will be a maximum of 60 guests and the ceremony will be screened live on RAI 3 at 13.00.

His funeral will be preceded by a ceremony at city hall before a procession in cars will visit some of places in Rome dearest to his heart, including the Brancaccio Theatre on Via Merulana and the Globe in Villa Borghese.

Last night the city projected an image of Proietti’s face on the Colosseum and the Campidoglio, while many Romans took to their balconies to applaud one of the city’s favourite sons.