Financing Culture and Theatre. Remigio Paone between Economics and Politics (1899-1977)

Although historians of the theatre have in recent years begun to consider the figure of the impresario, their studies as a whole show little interest in financial and political/institutional aspects, which are instead important. While on the one hand the impresario makes or influences artistic decisions, on the other he incurs expenses and contingencies, and has over the years benefited by contributions from central and peripheral administrations; in alternating stages between the 17th and 19th centuries, then codified by the Fascist Regime that became a State-impresario for political reasons, and extended in the Republican age to involve production as a whole, both public and private. Starting from these premises, we will trace the career of one of the most important Italian impresarios of the 20th century – Remigio Paone – to determine the factors responsible for his success, but also his failures, nearly always due to financial problems. Decisive in this context were his relations with Raffaele Mattioli – the banker who headed Comit, a patron of the arts and cultural entrepreneur – and who constantly supported and financed his theatrical activity.