Milan clubs Leoncavallo and Tempio del Futuro Perduto call for support amid threats to existence

Milan clubs Leoncavallo and Tempio del Futuro Perduto have issued calls for support amid threats to their ability to continue operating.

Leoncavallo, one of the Italian city’s longest-running grassroots venues and squats which has recently hosted DJs such as Om Unit, Stenny, NVST, Mantra, DJ Storm and dBridge, is particularly under threat having been served an eviction notice for as soon as next week. 

Issuing a plea for support, the team behind the venue said: “For 50 years, Leoncavallo has stood as a symbol of resistance, practicing self-management and fostering an inclusive, solidarity-driven vision of society. It embodies the belief that daily actions define emancipatory horizons and that a just, attainable society can be built here and now. This vision stands in stark contrast to the increasingly polarised and speculative reality of today’s Milan – a city where profit from concrete towers eclipses all other values, and where luxury skyscrapers threaten to erase cultural alternatives.

“Occupied, demolished, rebuilt, evicted, and relocated since 1975: once again, Leoncavallo’s future hangs in the balance. A long history of political struggle, the fight for informal social spaces, self-management, and radical critical culture is at risk of being cut short. Milan without Leoncavallo is unimaginable. We can and must defend it!”

To push back against the eviction, the venue is organising a protest, which is scheduled for Tuesday, 10th December. Find out more information here.

Milan club Tempio del Futuro Perduto, meanwhile, has launched a public campaign for support amid threats to its lease, which has seen the rent on the space housing the venue double after the Municipality of Milan “unexpectedly” put the building up for tender.

In a statement shared with Resident Advisor, the operators of the club said its continued existence is under threat, despite its status as the “first case of an independent cultural centre” recognised by Italian law.

“This speculative strategy threatens to replace community-oriented spaces with profit-driven enterprises, thereby undermining independent initiatives, particularly those aimed at minorities, young people, multi-cultures and social cohesion,” Tempio del Futuro Perduto’s statement said. “At a time of institutional instability and widespread budget cuts to essential services – such as hospitals, schools and cultural centres – the state appears determined to further deplete the remaining energy of youth-led initiatives and independent social spaces.”

The venue’s team also expressed their disappointment about the situation since they believe they were responsible for the revitalisation of the neighbourhood around Tempio del Futuro Perduto.

“We’ve been left to face considerable challenges: enduring the absence of heating, being subjected to homophobic and racist attacks, contending with flooding, inaccessible facilities and serious structural issues,” the club’s operators said. “Nevertheless, we’ve transformed these once-neglected spaces into one of Italy’s key cultural institutions.”

Founded in 2017 in an abandoned train factory, Tempio del Futuro Perduto puts on club nights, art exhibitions, music production classes, work programs for refugees and ex-inmates and other activities. It’s also involved in other charitable acts within Milan.