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Visiting Cinecittà: Europe's Largest and Longest-Operating Film Studio

Cinecittà is the largest and longest-operating film studio in Europe. Home to classic movies like La Dolce Vita and The Godfather III, Cinecittà also played host to some of the most memorable, and technically difficult, scenes in cinematic history, like the chariot race in Ben-Hur. From its inception as a studio for propaganda films by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini to its long-lasting relationship with iconic Italian director Federico Fellini there is no representative of the historical, social, and political importance of cinema in Europe that is more iconic than Cinecittà. Professor Ernesto Acevedo-Munoz brought his European and Mediterranean Cinema class to the studio to understand the historical importance of this studio and its effect on cinema in European culture.

An antique German camera sits on display in the Cinecittà museum. The Italian studio has been in operation continuously since 1937.
Professor Ernesto Acevedo-Munoz talks to students on the bus, giving them background on famous Cinecittà-made movies like Ben-Hur and La Dolce Vita.
Students watch the famous chariot scene from Ben-Hur on the bus as they travel to Cinecittà.
Manuela Costa, who works in the Education Department at Cinecittà, guided students through the different sets, including this area built to look like a street in New York City.
Kelly Corfield, a Music major at California State University, Chico, looks around the set for the HBO series ‘Rome’.
Inside the Cinecittà museum, famous, intricately crafted costumes are on display.
Professor Acevedo-Munoz speaks to his class about set design inside the Sala Federico Fellini.
Jaclyn Brotherson, a Journalism major at St. Bonaventure University, shoots video inside an art exhibition in the Cinecittà museum.
Students discuss movies as they walk through the grounds. Cinecittà is the studio most closely associated with the great Italian director Federico Fellini.
Details from the Greek and Roman set inside of Cinecittà.
Manuela Costa, a Cinecittà employee, talks about the various sets inside the studio.
Bianca Tonne, a Communication Arts major at University of California, Santa Barbara, and other students listen to a presentation about the history of set design at Cinecittà.
Students in the European and Mediterranean Cinema class stand for a portrait outside of the studio.
Written by: Administrator
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