The decision has been made. The Rialto Theater is being transferred to the Limassol Municipality.
“The Council of Ministers approved the completion of the process for the state to acquire the Rialto Theater building, while also approving the lease of the Rialto Theater building to the Limassol Municipality.”
Klea Papaellina, Deputy Minister of Culture
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
A decision that offers a “breath of fresh air” for the cultural “heart” in the heart of Limassol.
“A truly momentous day for Limassol. There’s an expression in English that goes, ‘it’s coming home.’ And it’s exceptionally fitting in this case when it comes to the Rialto. It’s returning home—to the city of Limassol, to its people.”
Dimos Katsis, Deputy Mayor of Limassol
“We are pleased with the cabinet’s decision, which, first and foremost, resolves this long-standing issue regarding ownership status and which confirms and affirms the theater’s historical significance. It safeguards the jobs of the Rialto Theater’s employees as well as the organization’s administrative and artistic independence.”
Daphne Pitta Diogenous, Chair of the Rialto Board of Directors
A decision that will bring smiles to the city of Limassol.
“For us in Limassol, this is something truly moving. And I want to say that today’s decision must inevitably be dedicated to those people who fought to keep the Rialto alive.”
Dimos Katsis, Deputy Mayor of Limassol
“We will do everything in our power to ensure the Rialto reaches the place it deserves, the place it ought to be. It absolutely had to come to Limassol, because the Rialto belongs to the people of Limassol.”
Daphne Pitta Diogenous, Chair of the Rialto Board of Directors
Going forward, the Limassol Municipality will cover 50% of the theater’s annual subsidy, while the state subsidy will be gradually reduced over the next three years.
“The Council of Ministers approved the allocation of the state subsidy provided by the Ministry of Finance in the amount of 250,000 euros, for 2026; 125,000 euros for 2027, as requested by the municipality; and 75,000 euros for 2028, with no further funding to be granted thereafter.”
Klea Papaellina, Deputy Minister of Culture
“For me, the most important thing is to safeguard the quality it currently produces, the culture it fosters, and the freedom in its activities and in any events it organizes; and gradually,in the medium term, we as the municipal authority must figure out how to embrace all these cultural organizations under our jurisdiction and how to integrate them.”
Dimos Katsis, Deputy Mayor of Limassol
The History of the Rialto
It was built in 1933 and became the first modern movie theater in Cyprus, by the standards of the time. It hosted film and theater productions, with the cinema charting a vibrant cultural trajectory spanning fifty years.
In the mid-1980s, affected by the consequences of the invasion, it was forced to close its doors until February 1991, when the abandoned cinema was taken over by the Limassol Cooperative Savings Bank.
“In the 1990s, there were even proposals to tear it down to build a parking lot. But by that point, a group of active citizens—a movement that had formed at the time—had stepped in. They fought hard to ensure that the Rialto remained a theatrical and cultural institution, and it was these people who convinced the Cooperative Savings Bank at the time to invest in the entire organization.”
Dimos Katsis, Deputy Mayor of Limassol
May 15, 1999. The new Rialto Theater will once again welcome audiences and usher in a new era in the cultural life of Limassol and the island.
In 2018, following the dissolution of the Cooperative, ownership of the theater will be transferred to the state through KEDIPES, with the theater continuing its independent cultural activities, receiving financial support from the Ministry of Finance; from that point on, it would systematically seek to resolve its outstanding ownership issues and ensure its independence.
And that brings us to today, October 12, 2026, when the Council of Ministers approved its lease to the Municipality of Limassol.
