Turin, the Tower and the Silver Screen – Italy’s Cinema Museum is Worth Seeing

The Turin derby has long be one of the most one-sided meetings in Italian football, but dig back into the archives and you’ll find a fixture that was ‘absolute cinema’.

Which is apt considering the Mole Antonelliana, the building the Derby della Mole takes its name from, houses Italy’s National Cinema Museum.

Originally conceived as a synagogue, the building’s famous domes and spire make the museum a unique experience.

Forget about walking through lengthy corridors and instead hop into the transparent glass lift that rises through the centre of the museum’s open-air section, covering 75 metres in less than a minute without any middle floors.

The ride may not be for the faint-hearted, but it is worth it to admire the 360-degree view over the city from the Tempietto terrace. Just make sure to book tickets online, as the lift often has long wait times and mandatory reservations for specific time slots.

There is, of course, a football element to it all as the museum has screened a number of movies dedicated to the beautiful game, including Pele in late 2025.

The museum has long celebrated the bond between sports and film, notably through the Gulp! Goal! Ciak! exhibition – a show produced alongside the Juventus Museum, which offered a deep dive into football’s cultural impact across comic strips and the big screen.

From a display of film posters tracing the evolution of movie marketing and graphic art, to artefacts from some of the greatest movies in history, the National Cinema Museum has it all.

Want to see the original poster from Taxi Driver? Step this way. Fancy admiring the masks worn in Batman? Right over there.

The museum also goes beyond the traditional boundaries of cinema, taking visitors behind the scene with a section detailing the technical side of the industry, showcasing costumes, set designs, storyboards, and equipment such as vintage cameras and microphones.

There is also a section dedicated to pre-cinematographic optical devices, including shadow puppetry and rare magic lanterns that paved the way for modern motion pictures.

Once you’re done with the visit, head down to the hall, sit down to watch classic film clips projected onto giant screens. Absolute cinema, indeed.

Museo Nazionale del Cinema
Via Montebello 20, Torino.
Open Wednesday to Monday from 9am to 7pm.

Tickets are €18 for adults and €16 for concessions, while tickets for the museum and the panoramic lift cost €23 and €20 respectively. Tickets are available on the museum’s website.