Mole Antonelliana and the Cinema Museum
The glass lift and the history of cinema
The Mole Antonelliana, the symbol of Turin, is one of the most surprising buildings of the nineteenth century. It was begun in 1863 as a synagogue for the Jewish community, designed by the architect Alessandro Antonelli, but during construction Antonelli kept raising its height, and the community, unable to bear the costs, gave it to the city, which completed it in 1889 as a monument to national unity. With its spire about 167 metres high, it was for a time the tallest brick building in the world and remains one of the tallest in Europe.
Since 2000 it has housed the Museo Nazionale del Cinema, one of the most important film museums in the world and certainly the most spectacular. Its exhibits, arranged on several levels around the immense central hall under the dome, tell the history of cinema from the magic lanterns, shadow theatres and optical toys of the "pre-cinema" to modern special effects, with original costumes, posters, sets and memorabilia from great films, and a hall where visitors lie on red chaise longues watching films projected on huge screens. A panoramic glass lift, suspended in the void in the centre of the hall, rises in 59 seconds to the viewing terrace at 85 metres, with a 360-degree view over the city, the hills and the arc of the Alps.
Tip: book the lift in advance, especially at weekends; at sunset the view of the Alps behind the city is magnificent.
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