 Logo used since 2011 | |
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| Cinema City Studios | |
| Industry | Film Media Amusement park |
| Founded | 1937; 88 years ago (1937) |
| Founder | Benito Mussolini |
| Headquarters | , Italy |
| Website | cinecitta.com |
Cinecittà Studios (pronounced[ˌtʃinetʃitˈta]; Italian forCinema City) is a largefilm studio inRome,Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio inEurope,[1] and is considered the hub ofItalian cinema. The studios were constructed during theFascist era as part of a plan to revive the Italian film industry and to compete withHollywood.[2]
Filmmakers such asFederico Fellini,Roberto Rossellini,Luchino Visconti,Sergio Leone,Bernardo Bertolucci,Francis Ford Coppola,Martin Scorsese,Mel Gibson andLuca Guadagnino have worked at Cinecittà. More than 3,000 movies have been filmed there, of which 90 received anAcademy Award nomination and 47 of these won it.[3] In the 1950s, the number of international productions being made there led to Rome being dubbed "Hollywood on the Tiber."
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The studios were founded in 1937 byBenito Mussolini, his sonVittorio, and his head of cinemaLuigi Freddi under the slogan "Il cinema è l'arma più forte" ("Cinema is the most powerful weapon").[4] The purpose was not only for propaganda, but also to support the recovering Italian feature film industry, which had reached its low point in 1931.[2][5] Mussolini himself inaugurated the studios on 21 April 1937.[6] Post-production units and sets were constructed and heavily used initially. Early films such asScipio Africanus (1937) andThe Iron Crown (1941) showcased the technological advancement of the studios. Seven thousand people were involved in the filming of the battle scene fromScipio Africanus, and live elephants were brought in as a part of the re-enactment of theBattle of Zama.[7]
During World War II it became a German army barracks and was stripped of all electrical equipment with its sound stages smashed and gutted.[8] The studios were bombed by theWestern Allies during thebombing of Rome in World War II.
Following the war, between 1945 and 1947, the studios of Cinecittà were used as adisplaced persons' camp for a period of about two years, following German occupation and Allied bombing that destroyed parts of the studio.[9] An estimated 3,000 refugees lived there, divided into two camps: an Italian camp housing Italians as well as displaced people from Italian Libya and Dalmatia, and an international camp, including refugees from Yugoslavia, Poland, Egypt, Iran, and China.[10]
After rebuilding in the postwar years by MGM's Henry Henigson forQuo Vadis,[11] the studios were used once again for their post-production facilities. Cinecittà, described asHollywood on the Tiber, was the location for several largeAmerican film productions, likeRoman Holiday (1953),Beat the Devil (1953),The Barefoot Contessa (1954),Ben-Hur (1959), and some low-budget action pictures starringLex Barker. Barker also featured inFederico Fellini'sLa Dolce Vita (1960)[12] and the studios were for many years closely associated with Fellini.[13][14]
In the same period, the studios were used for further international productions such asFrancis of Assisi (1961),Cleopatra (1963),The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), Zeffirelli'sRomeo and Juliet (1968),Fellini's Casanova (1976),La Traviata (1982) and many other productions.
It hosted theEurovision Song Contest 1991. This was the 36thEurovision Song Contest and was held on Stage 15. Due to the Gulf War and mounting tensions in Yugoslavia,RAI decided to move the contest fromSanremo to Rome which was perceived to be more secure.
After a period of near-bankruptcy, the Italian Governmentprivatized Cinecittà in 1997, selling an 80% stake.[15] On August 9, 2007, a fire destroyed about 3,000 m2 (32,000 sq. ft.) of the Cinecittà lot and surroundings. The historic part that houses the sets of classics such asBen-Hur was not damaged; however, a good portion of the original sets from the HBO/BBC seriesRome was destroyed.[16] In July 2012, another fire damaged Teatro 5, the vast studio where Fellini filmedLa Dolce Vita[17] andSatyricon (1969).[15][18] A third fire in August 2022 destroyed part of a partially dismantled set depicting Renaissance-eraFlorence and disrupted filming of the sequel toThe Old Guard.[19][20][21]
Since the 1990s, films have includedAnthony Minghella'sThe English Patient (1996) andThe Talented Mr. Ripley (1999),Martin Scorsese'sGangs of New York (2002),[17]Wes Anderson'sThe Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004),Mel Gibson'sThe Passion of the Christ (2004),Thomas Berger'sConclave (2024),Luca Guadagnino'sQueer (2024) andTerry Gilliam'sCarnival: At the End of Days (TBA).
Cinecittà also hosts TV productions, such asGrande Fratello, the Italian version ofBig Brother, where theBig Brother house is built on Cinecittà's premises. The complex also hosted theEurovision Song Contest 1991.[13]
In addition, theBBC/HBO seriesRome was filmed there from 2004 to 2007, the show being widely acclaimed for its sets and designs.BBC Wales reused some of these sets foran episode of the2008 series ofDoctor Who set in ancientPompeii, andAlexandre Astier reused this set for the Book VI of his television seriesKaamelott set inAncient Rome.
More recently,Paolo Sorrentino's seriesThe Young Pope andThe New Pope were almost entirely shot at Cinecittà, including reconstruction of the interiors of theSistine Chapel andSaint Peter's Basilica.[22] The 2019 filmThe Two Popes sections of which were also shot at Cinecittà, again utilised a reconstruction of the Sistine Chapel.[23]
In 2009 the studio announced that they intended to create a theme park.[24] The movie-themed amusement park,Cinecittà World, opened in July 2014.[25][26] 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 byDino De Laurentiis in the 1960s.[25]
Cinecittà World was designed byDante Ferretti, a production designer who has won threeAcademy Awards. Visitors enterCinecittà World through the jaws of the Temple of Moloch, seen inCabiria, a silent movie filmed inTurin in 1914. The theme park also features a recreation of 1920s-eraManhattan as envisioned by Ferretti.[25]
Cinecittà World expects to have 1.5 million visitors annually. Expansion plans for the theme park include a nature reserve and a wellness center.[25]
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![Cinecittà - Teatro 5, Fellini's favorite sound stage[27]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aCinecitt%25C3%25A0_-_Teatro_5.jpg)
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| Preceded by | Eurovision Song Contest Venue 1991 | Succeeded by |
41°51′7″N12°34′38″E / 41.85194°N 12.57722°E /41.85194; 12.57722
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