Temple for cinema history opens in Turin

The "Moloch" used in the early 20th century Italian film "Cabiria" dominates the area under the steel staircase which joins the museum's five levels Keystone

A historic building regarded as the symbol of Turin has been transformed into Italy’s national cinema museum after a major restoration project led by Swiss architect Francois Confino.

Constructed in the latter part of the 19th century, the Mole Antonelliana was once the tallest stone building in Europe, towering 167.5 metres over Turin.

It was originally intended as a synagogue but was bought by the city authorities to become for a time the Museum of the Risorgimento, the movement for the unification and independence of Italy in 1870.

The conversion project took four years. Confino says his aim was to recreate the atmosphere and imagination of the cinema as an art form, while at the same time exhibiting a huge collection of technical objects from the 19th century up to the present day.

He achieved this by creating space for more than 30 cinema screens to show films from the museum’s library. These can now be projected simultaneously onto screens in various parts of the museum.

swissinfo with agencies