Calls Grow for Limassol’s Rialto Theatre to Transfer to Municipal Ownership

Calls grow for Limassol’s Rialto Theatre to transfer to municipal ownership. The 1930‑built cinema fell into decline in the 1980s, was bought in 1991 by the Limassol cooperative bank, restored, and reopened in 1999. When the bank dissolved in 2018, the state took ownership. Now the theatre and the municipality seek a cabinet decision to hand the venue back to local control. Mayor Yiannis Armeftis argues that an independent board would secure funding more easily and that the municipality would cover half of the operating costs. Board chair Dafni Pitta Diogenous notes that state subsidies account for less than 20 % of the budget, making additional funding hard to obtain. Former chairman Kikis Kazamias says the transfer is fair after the bank’s dissolution.