A long and tormented history, that offormer Tognazzi cinemawhich will now see a happy ending thanks to the Arvedi Buschini Foundation. It was March 31, 2011 when the lights of that space in the heart of the historic center of Cremona went out forever. Its opening, however, dates back to 1993, when the Piacenza entrepreneur Leopardi wanted to bring one of the many cinemas in Cremona back to life which had been progressively closed.
But its history has its roots in an even more remote past: before, in fact, the Tognazzi was known as Cinema Roxy, and before that as Enic. After the Roxy closed in 1973, it sat as an empty storefront for 20 yearsuntil, the October 16, 1993, it reopened its doors as Tognazziin homage to the great Cremonese actor and director.
And from that day it had once again become a point of reference for the cultural life of the city. Two rooms, for a total of a thousand seats. The inauguration was held with great pomp, with all the authorities present, as well as various cinema staff. So much so that that day it was necessary to cordon off Via Verdi to contain the curious. Also present were Tognazzi’s three children, Simona Izzo, Paolo Villaggio and Sandra Mondaini. The opening film was the first ever viewing of ‘Sud’ by Gabriele Salvatores.
In the years that followed, Cremona invented the Tognazzi prize for the best Italian cabaret artist, to be held in the cinema dedicated to the great Ugo. For a few years it was a parade of stars: Verdone, Wertmuller, Abatantuono. The award was won among others by Max Pisu, Ficarra and Picone, Enrico Bertolino, actors who began a successful career from there.
The dream, however, lasted only 18 years: also due to the arrival of multiplexes in shopping centers, in fact, the cinema went into crisis. The last screenings took place on March 31, 2011: in room 1 “The King’s speech”, in room 2 “Friends, lovers and…”.
Over the years there have been many hypotheses for recovering the structure: from a car park to a small city shopping centre. Now finally, a concrete project will be able to return this space to citizens.
LaBos
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