MOLE ANTONELLIANA - MUSEO DEL CINEMA
Now important symbol of Turin, the construction of the Mole Antonelliana started in 1862 with Alessandro Antonelli, who had the purpose to erect a Jewish temple. After an interruption, the works restarted from above the vault, where they put a cell made by granite, indispensable for the sustainment of a two-level lantern and a very high cone. In this way, the building goes from having a square layout to a circular one.
On the top of the high peak, there are lots of conical and cylindrical elements which end with a pyramidal and octagonal pinnacle, realized then in two parts. In 1889, Costanzo Antonelli, son of the dead architect, finished the works by putting an angel on the top of the peak.
The Mole Antonelliana is considered, with its 163,35mt. of height, the highest stonework of the world. During August 1904, a hurricane dropped the statue and they put a star instead. Then in 1953, a storm destroyed more than 40 mt. of the pinnacle, which was substituted by a metallic structure covered by stone; and doing so, the lower body were reinforced. Inside the building, there is a room with square layout and it is covered by a cross vault; giving homogeneity to the outside part.
A panoramic elevator brings you to the little temple positioned under the pinnacle, from where you have the possibility to admire a breathtaking view of the city and of the surrounding mountains.
The Mole Antonelliana is now the headquarter of the Cinema National Museum.
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