Archaeology of Cinema

The Archaeology of Cinema collection tells us about the spectacular universe that entertained audiences of all ages and social classes before the birth of the cinema: so many different stories that gave rise to a colourful, surprising and eccentric world reproduced through Chinese shadows, optical boxes, magic lanterns and subsequent devices to animate images. This universe is documented by a diverse collection that includes prints, paintings, and other rare iconographic exhibits. Following the footsteps of Maria Adriana Prolo, the Museum’s founder, we continued to enrich the original collection over the years. Two acquisitions are worth a particular mention: the collection of the twins John and William Barnes, one of Britain's most valuable private collections, and the collection of Pierre and Zette Levie, a Belgian couple united by the same passion for collecting.