Watch Mike lost himself in the piles of red carpets, light effects, and costumes – as if life is a movie.
I have never been a fan of museums. They’re usually filled with monotonous statues and paintings. I can count on my fingers how many museums I have visited. But this one is different.
February 2022. It was the end of winter in Italy as well as the end of my study period. I came up with the idea of doing a solo trip to enjoy my last month of stay in my host country. Torino (the Italian name for Turin) in the northwestern part of Italy had been on my bucket list – and therefore I bought a ticket to Turin.
Arriving in Turin, my eyes were fixed on one tall building, Mole Antonelliana – a major landmark in Turin named after its architect, Alessandro Antonelli. Located in the heart of Turin, this museum’s tip can be seen from afar as it is 167.5 meters high. I personally call it “The Empire State of Italy”. This building was originally made as a synagogue but it is now the place for the tallest museum in the world, the National Museum of Cinema. As a big fan of cinema myself, I promised to visit this museum.
The next day, after strolling around the city of Juventus football club, I finally stepped inside this dreamy museum. I paid 12 euros in total for the entrance ticket, including for the panoramic terrace at the very top of the tower. I was taken to the panoramic terrace first before the museum. A look-through-glass elevator took me to the very top of this tower and as I arrived at the panoramic terrace, I was truly astonished by the beauty of Turin. I could see the icy mountains at the back of the very cinematic view of this city. I stayed there for as long as I could before I continued to the main destination, the Cinema Museum.
I went back down and entered the museum exhibition rooms, and guess what I stumbled on at the very first? A showcase of Wayang Kulit from Java in the 20th century! I felt a little bit proud inside, realizing how impactful was the role of our traditional theater for the world of the cinema industry.
I continued my peregrination by entering the museum’s main hall where I could see the imitative red carpet and paparazzi, the billboards across the ceiling, the recliners with VR on the ground, and the spiraling staircase that leads to every exhibition room. Moreover, as I entered the exhibition rooms, it felt like I was in movie property sets with all the projection, light effects, and displayed costumes – one was from the Star Wars!
I also learned about the Archaeology of Cinema in this museum – starting from the story of black and white silent films to modern-day era cinema. In the last part of the museum, they were showcasing “Diabolik”, an Italian comic character, that was going to release its live-action movie soon. This museum also has its own movie theater down the block where they usually held film festivals – it was only a few steps away from the Mole Antonelliana.
At the end of my tour, I felt very satisfied with what this museum could offer – I could spend a whole day just to explore every corner of this museum. It was the best museum I have ever visited and I would be happy to pay this museum another visit in the future as not only have I learned about Italian cinemas here but also from all around the world. If you are a fan of films, National Museum of Cinema is definitely your must-visit place in Italy.
Created by : Pangeran Michael Sihaloho
Mike is a Soil Science graduate of Universitas Pattimura. He is a big fan of Cappuccino and a highly movie enthusiast. Spent most of his time learning something new, but probably is watching a movie right now. He is forever grateful for his IISMA journey, because he thinks it changed his life very much. He believes that someday he can change the world in his own ways.