I’ve got midterms in a week. Yikes. I don’t know how I’m already halfway through this semester, time seems to be flying by. And I’m feeling sick :( which, by the way, is made so much worse when you realize your mom is over 5,400 miles away and can’t make you a giant Tupperware full of classic chicken noodle soup and remind you dutifully of everything you should and shouldn't be doing in order to get better. Sigh.
Despite my feverish symptoms, I chose to follow through with my original Saturday night plan to attend a guided tour through the National Cinema Museum of Torino. Only 3 of us from school opted to join the tour which was offered in Italian, including a trip to the observation deck and ending with an aperitivo in the Museum Cafe. I'm so glad I was able to go because this is by far one of the most memorable museum experiences I've ever had!
The Mole Antonelliana.
First of all, the museum is in the Mole Antonelliana, decidedly the most famous landmark of Torino. The structure was completed in 1863 by Alessandro Antonelli and was originally intended to be a Jewish synagogue. During the first years of the project, Antonelli's plans for the building shifted and became more ambitious as costs doubled and became too high for the Jewish community. At this point the capital of Italy had been moved from Torino and the Italian citizens demanded the city take over the project. For years the Mole existed as the Museum of Italian Independence, but in 2000 it became the National Cinema Museum and is now thought to be the tallest museum in the world at 167 meters (548 feet). Fun fact: an image of the Mole appears on the back of all the 2-cent euro coins!
Looking up at the dome, the elevator goes straight up the middle of the building!
For those of you who don't know, Italy is actually a historically cinematic hub. Filmmaking was as innovative and influential here as in Hollywood as Mussolini highly encouraged film production during the fascist era. Italian films are still considered among the best in comedy, horror, and yes - the spaghetti western! This museum was ah-mazing. Not only was it packed to the gills with historic memorabilia, but there were tons of interactive exhibitions. Magic Lanterns, special effects, themed rooms, and my personal fave, rows upon rows of chaise lounges for sitting and watching films!
View from above, staircases wind up the inside walls where there are temporary exhibitions.
What an experience. We wandered along with our Italian-speaking guide through a comedy-themed room with toilets placed in rows for viewing funny movies. We walked through a cut-out of Wiley Coyote into the cartoon-themed rooms, and saw lifelike remakes of different movie sets. They had cameras set up to superimpose your image real-time into the scene of a movie, then as you ambled along down the hallway you realized your minute of smiling and waving in the camera was delayed and replayed on a big screen for you to see - haha! The collections of movie memorabilia is enough to make this museum stand apart, but then we rode the glass elevator several hundred feet to the top of the building (think: willy wonka-type vertigo).
View from the top of the Mole: Piazza Vittorio, La Gran Madre.
Wow! I wish this photo could convey the beauty of the city from that high up. We could see the neighboring hills, even the Alps. What a lovely cultural trademark this city has, this museum is such a gem. It is excursions and discoveries like this that make me truly proud to be specializing in cultural heritage management (if we want to call it that). Sometimes I think Italy is so spoiled to have all this rich cultural history, I mean there are museums of this caliber nearly EVERYWHERE in this country and I can't think of one museum that could be considered this impressive in Austin. Hate to say it, but it's true. That needs to change.
Well, I must say I'm constantly impressed by this city and what it has to offer, I simply cannot wait to discover even more!
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