On his 75th birthday, Carlo Verdone symbolically became mayor of Rome for a day. A tricolor sash at the Capitoline Hill, visits to the suburbs, meetings with children, seniors, and families: a special day in which the capital celebrated one of its most beloved directors and actors.
The entrance to the Capitol seems like the beginning of a movie scene: the local police band plays the soundtrack of “A lot beautiful” by Ennio Morricone while Carlo Verdone, wearing the tricolor sash, climbs the steps of the building. Emotion is strong; he himself admits to having shed "a few tears" and recalls how much he owes his parents for having taught him to understand Rome, "with its poetry and its flaws."
His one-day appointment as mayor of Rome is not merely symbolic. The council approved two initiatives: the opening of a dentistry and social psychology clinic in Tor Bella Monaca and new measures to support Rome's bookstores. It's a way to connect Verdone's birthday to working-class neighborhoods and culture, themes that are also central to his cinema.
Then the tour begins in the suburbs of Rome. Villa Gordiani He was greeted by a huge crowd: he inaugurated a playground, planted a tree, and stopped for selfies and jokes with the locals. “I used to play in the parks too, but they were much more uneven. Everything you can do for children and young people is sacred,” he said, calling Rome “a great mother who embraces everyone.”
Lunch moves to a senior center at Retort, on the far northern outskirts of the city: traditional Roman dishes and a birthday cake are on the table. Verdone, a notorious teetotaler, confesses to having made a small exception to toast. In the afternoon, he visits Tragliatella, between construction sites, citizens and jokes aimed at the mayor Roberto Gualtieri: “If he doesn't do the work well… vote for me and we'll sort it out,” he jokes, mixing reality and characters.
Before returning to the Campidoglio, Carlo Verdone also passes by Valle Theatre, a historic Roman cultural space that will reopen in 2026. In the Aula Giulio Cesare, in front of his family, Christian De Sica, and former mayor Francesco Rutelli, the actor reflects on the city he has spent his life portraying: “The Rome of the 80s no longer exists. But the world moves on. We must build the future.” He also recalls his first film, born thanks to the trust of Sergio Leone, as a declaration of love for Rome.
Mayor Gualtieri thanked Verdone for dedicating the day "to the communities most in need" and revealed some of the director's proposals: a book and antiques market in the redevelopment of Via Veneto, at the entrance to Villa Borghese, and the redevelopment of a closed movie theater. Ideas that once again unite Rome, cinema, and culture.
At the end of this day from mayor of Rome for a dayThe tricolor sash returns to the mayor, who presents Carlo Verdone with the Capitoline Wolf. The embrace between the two is long and sincere. "It was the most beautiful gift I could have received," the actor comments. In the Capitoline Museum's guest book, he leaves a dedication to the "so much humanity and so much poetry" he encountered in the suburbs. A special birthday, transforming Rome into a real and affectionate set around its most Roman director.
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