Avellino culture councillor Luca Cipriano has rejected calls for his resignation, pointing instead to a sharp decline in subscriptions at the Teatro Gesualdo after his time in charge.

In statements reported by IrpiniaNews, Cipriano asked, in effect, whether he should be the one to resign, arguing that "the numbers speak clearly." He contrasted 2,770 subscriptions for the 2015/2016 season, which he attributes to his management, with 62 subscriptions reported for 2024/2025.

The figures cited

According to the IrpiniaNews report of Cipriano's statement:

  • The 2014/2015 season recorded 92,412 total attendances and 957,400 euros in ticket and subscription revenue.
  • The 2015/2016 season recorded 2,770 subscriptions.
  • Later seasons reported 328 subscriptions for 2022/2023 and 62 subscriptions for 2024/2025, under the subsequent Festa and Nargi administrations.
  • The annual subscription was eliminated in 2023/2024, a season when the programme included 15 performances.
  • The 2025/2026 subscription campaign was announced and then revoked by the commissioner.

The figures were presented by Cipriano as drawn from municipal records, but the underlying Comune di Avellino documents were not set out in the article acquired for this report.

Building condition and relaunch plan

Cipriano also linked the theatre's current difficulties to long-term deterioration, referring to water infiltration, damaged floors, collapsed ceiling sections and falling plaster. Those descriptions are claims made in his political statement and have not been independently verified here.

The same report says the Pizza administration has a plan to relaunch the Teatro Gesualdo and describes that plan as already operational. Its details and current status require independent verification.

What remains unclear

Readers should treat the subscription, attendance and revenue figures with caution: they were reported through a political statement and were not independently corroborated by municipal documents in the available research. The report also does not establish whether the seasons being compared had similar programme lengths, pricing, eligibility rules or sales periods.