The National Cinema Museum in Turin
SilvanaEditoriale 2016
English and French version of the guide by Scriptum
The National Cinema Museum in Turin is not a museum, at least not in the traditional sense. The variety of its holdings – over two million items, ranging from films, books and original screenplays to photographs, posters, props, costumes, cameras, etc – makes it one of the most important film museums in the world. In addition, its myriad scientific activities and events for the public make the museum a hub of cultural activities that has few peers on the national or international arts scene. Yet what makes Turin’s Museum of Cinema truly one of a kind is the way its holdings are exhibited. In designing the museum spaces, François Confino first had to come to terms with the unique features of the building hosting the collection. The tower called the Mole Antonelliana is the symbol of the city of Turin, an intriguingly unconventional landmark that is overwhelmingly vertical, with a labyrinthian interior that places challenging constrictions on a designer. Confino introduced multiple itineraries to view the works on display, combining the requirements of a rigorous scientific framework with those of a spectacular exhibition space.