TURIN'S SPECTACULAR CINEMA MUSEUM @ 07 Oct 2010

Turin has for a long time been the Cinderella of the famous Italian art cities. Since the days of the Grand Tour,  Florence, Rome, Venice and Naples have monopolized the image of Italian cultural destinations.  In the second part of the 20 th century, Turin was generally perceived as an industrial centre, home of the FIAT car. This began to change with the staging of the Winter Olympics in 2006 when Turin set out to broadcast its many cultural and artistic attractions and it has never looked back, as growing numbers of foreign visitors become aware that the city has its own unique heritage, a treasure house of sights waiting to be discovered.

One of the citys most up-and-coming attractions is the Cinema Museum, which documents the history of the silver screen inside Turins most celebrated landmark: the Mole Antonelliana. The Mole, with its square-cornered dome and high spire towers over the rooftops of the city. Built in 1863 as a synagogue, it was never used by the Jewish community due to structural problems. Modified many times and converted into a museum and contemporary art gallery, it became the magical seat of the National Museum of Cinema only ten years ago. The stomach-churning elevator ride up the centre of the monument to the 167-metre viewing terrace on the roof draws lines of crowds in the holiday season.

The elevator ride, however, cannot match the thrill of the museum exhibits, imaginatively set out in a itinerary that leads through a maze of darkened alcoves and corridors displaying magic lanterns, shadow shows, kaleidoscopes, fairground peep shows, ancient projectors and early cameras, documenting the very birth of photography and cinema.  Surprises await at every turn, such as the spectacular, life-size projection of an arriving train, produced by the Lumier Brothers in 1895, and which terrified viewers when it was first shown.

The central hall of the museum, instead, is open under the soaring roof and contains rows of chaise-longues where visitors can stretch out and watch projections of famous old classics of Italian and foreign cinema on giant screens. A winding ramp, designed by Swiss architect Francios Confino, snakes round the inside walls, decorated with historic posters of films like Cabiria, one of the first kolossals in movie history, shot in Turin in 1914 and depicting the dazzling Rita Hayworth in Gilda, presented at Cannes in 1946, and considered a scandal at the time. The museum has a collection of 26,000 films, dating back to the silent days of early cinema and 865,000 photographs documenting the story of the seventh art.

Among the many rarities and curiosities are some magic lanterns dating from the 18 th century, the story board of The Empire Strikes Back from the Star Wars series, the model of Jurassic Park, the famous nude calendar photos of Marilyn Monroe and a selection of costumes, including the one worn by Joan Crawford in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?.

The unique setting and atmosphere of the museum have inspired several film directors to use it as a location, among which Dopo Mezzonotte (After Midnight) by David Ferrario, The Demons of St. Petersburg by Montaldo and Vincere (Conquer), the recent film on Mussolini by Marco Bellocchio. The National Museum of Cinema  is open every day except Mondays from 9 am- 8 pm, with longer hours on Saturdays.

Margaret Stenhouse

For information: www.museocinema.it


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