Cinecittà

Entrance to the Cinecittà studios

Cinecittà (pronounced [ˌtʃinetʃitˈta]; Italian: Cinema City) is a large film studio in Rome. It is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios were constructed during the Fascist era as part of a scheme to revive the Italian film industry. In the 1950s, the number of international productions being made there led to Rome's being dubbed Hollywood on the Tiber.

History

The studios were founded in 1937 by Benito Mussolini, his son Vittorio, and his head of cinema Luigi Freddi under the slogan "Il cinema è l'arma più forte" ("Cinema is the most powerful weapon").^[1] The purpose was not only for propaganda, but also to boost the Italian feature film industry, which was in crisis at the time. Mussolini himself inaugurated the studios on April 21, 1937.^[2] Post-production units and sets were constructed and heavily used initially. Early films such as 1937's Scipio Africanus and 1941's The Iron Crown showcased the technological advancement of the studios. Seven thousand people were involved in the filming of the battle scene from Scipio Africanus, and live elephants were brought in as a part of the re-enactment of the Battle of Zama.^[3]

The studios were bombed by the Western Allies during the bombing of Rome in World War II. Following the war, between 1945 and 1947, the studios of Cinecittà were used as a displaced persons' camp for a period of about two years, following German occupation and Allied bombing that destroyed parts of the studio.^[4] An estimated 3,000 refugees lived there, divided into two camps: an Italian camp housing Italians as well as displaced people from colonized Libya and Dalmatia, and an international camp, including refugees from Yugoslavia, Poland, Egypt, Iran, and China.^[5]

After rebuilding in the postwar years, the studios were used once again for their post-production facilities. In the 1950s, Cinecittà was the filming location for several large American film productions like Ben-Hur, and then became the studio most closely associated with Federico Fellini.^[6]

After a period of near-bankruptcy, the Italian Government privatized Cinecittà in 1997, selling an 80% stake.^[7] On August 9, 2007, a fire destroyed about 3000 m² (32,000 sq. ft.) of the Cinecittà lot and surroundings. The historic part that houses the sets of classics such as Ben-Hur was not damaged; however, a good portion of the original sets from the HBO/BBC series Rome was destroyed.^[8] In July 2012 another fire damaged Teatro 5, the vast studio where Fellini filmed La Dolce Vita and Satyricon.^[9][7]

Notable productions

As the home of Italian cinema, Cinecittà has seen the production of many classic films such as La Dolce Vita^[10] and Fellini Satyricon.

Since the days of Ben-Hur, the studios have welcomed international productions including Helen of Troy (1956), Francis of Assisi (1961), Cleopatra (1963), The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), Fellini's Casanova (1976), Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968), La Traviata (1982) and many other grand film productions.

Since the 1990s, films have included Anthony Minghella's The English Patient, Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York,^[11] Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.

TV productions

Cinecittà also hosts TV productions, such as Grande Fratello, the Italian version of Big Brother, where the Big Brother house is built on Cinecittà's premises. The Eurovision Song Contest of 1991 was also produced there.^[12]

In addition, the BBC/HBO series Rome was filmed there from 2004 to 2007, the show being widely acclaimed for its sets and designs. BBC Wales reused some of these sets for an episode of the 2008 series of Doctor Who set in ancient Pompeii, and Alexandre Astier reused this set for the Book VI of his television series Kaamelott set in Ancient Rome.

More recently, Paolo Sorrentino's 2016 series The Young Pope was almost entirely shot at Cincecittà, including reconstruction of the interiors of the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's Basilica.^[13]

Cinecittà World

In 2009 the studio announced that they intended to create a theme park.^[14]The movie-themed amusement park, Cinecittà World, opened in July 2014.^[15][16] The €250 million theme park is located approximately 25 km (16 mi) southwest of Cinecittà studios, on the site of a former movie studio built by Dino De Laurentiis in the 1960s.^[15]

Cinecittà World was designed by Dante Ferretti, a production designer who has won three Academy Awards. Visitors enter Cinecittà World through the jaws of the Temple of Moloch, seen in Cabiria, a silent movie filmed in Turin in 1914. The theme park also features a recreation of 1920s-era Manhattan as envisioned by Ferretti.^[15]

Cinecittà World expects to have 1.5 million visitors annually. Expansion plans for the theme park include a nature reserve and a wellness center.^[15]

See also

• Cinecittà metro station
• Cinecittà World

References

External links

• Official website
• Cinecittà on Facebook
• Cinecitta World
• History of Cinecittà
• RAI International:Cinecittà
• Documents Cinecitta'

Coordinates: 41°51′7.25″N 12°34′38.31″E / 41.8520139°N 12.5773083°E / 41.8520139; 12.5773083