“Il cinema è l’arma più forte” (“Cinema is the most powerful weapon”) – Benito Mussolini

It’s one of those dramatic twists of fate that the Italian dream factory, Rome’s Cinecittà studios, were designed and erected as a fascist propaganda machine. What else could you expect from the anarchist turned Hitler puppet, and ultimately big loser in the march of history, Benito Mussolini, Il Duce? As it turns out, Il Duce’s ambitions for a grander Italy projected through its cinematic production were fulfilled, albeit in ways he would not have approved. Cinecittà emerged from the horrors of war, and the dark ages of totalitarianism, as the headquarters of a flourishing film industry that rapidly eradicated its blemished past and reestablished itself as a proud ambassador of Italian cultural vitality.

In the youtube age, Rome’s city of cinema survives in part as a museum dedicated to a fading industry. Who knows what the future of cinema looks like? Certainly monopolizing large chunks of expensive real estate dedicated to a cultural product that struggles to find an audience seems anachronistic. I’d like to think though, that this “Hollywood on the Tiber”, this pantheon of film history, in a city jam-packed with heritage, deserves an entry in the registry of museums, temples, basilicas, obelisks, amphitheaters, pizzerias and gelato joints that make a tourist’s head spin.

And if you think that was preachy, you should hear me talk about fake news, jazz or the importance of independent bookstores that include a coffeeshop. Alternatively, binge watch the following films, all shot at Cinecittà: “Rome, Open City” (Rosselini), “Mamma Roma” (Pasolini), “Roman Holiday” (Wyler), “La Dolce Vita” (Fellini), “Contempt” (Godard), and “The Gangs of New York” (Scorcese).

“MOTORE!”

 

Walking Project 114_the city of cinema – rome from chris worland on Vimeo.