Torino - Mole Antonelliana

Turin is the capital of Piedmont and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The population of the city is about 850.000 while the population of the metropolitan area is estimated at 2.2 million.


In the first century BC the Romans founded "Augusta Taurinorum". Turin reached about 5,000 inhabitants at the time, all living inside the high city walls. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the town was conquered by the Ostrogoths and later by the Lombards whose territory in 773 fell into the hands of the Franks under Charlemagne. After the marriage of Adelaide of Susa with Humbert Biancamano's son Otto, the family of the Counts of Savoy gained control. The title of count was held by the Bishop as count of Turin. At the end of the 13th century, when it was annexed to the Duchy of Savoy, the city already had 20,000 inhabitants. Many of the gardens and palaces were built in the 15th century when the city was redesigned. The University of Turin was also founded during this period.

The "Mole Antonelliana" is a landmark of Turin. The structure was built between 1863 and 1889 to plans by architect Alessandro Antonelli. It had been commissioned by the Jewish community to serve as a synagogue and was originally estimated at 280,000 lire. The architect's excessive ambition to build a unique structure caused the costs to explode to such an extent that by 1876 692,000 lire had been spent, but the building was still unfinished. Despite ambitious attempts, the Jewish community was finally unable to raise any more money and, thanks to a citizens' initiative, the building was sold in 1877 and a museum of the Risorgimento was established in 1895.

At a height of 167.50 meters, the Mole Antonelliana was the second tallest accessible building in the world at the time of its completion, after the obelisk of the monument to George Washington completed four years earlier, which was 180 centimeters higher. Until 1953, the Mole Antonelliana was the tallest structure in the world built with brick masonry.

The building survived the American bombing of the city in WW II undamaged. On May 23, 1953, the wooden spire was demolished by a tornado. This spire was not rebuilt until 1961 - but as a stone-clad metal structure. The structure was fixed with reinforced concrete.

The building now houses the Museo Nazionale del Cinema, the most important film museum in Italy. In the central axis of the building, a glass elevator cabin leads up to the lantern above the dome.