LA SALA CINEMATOGRAFICA “ALL’ITALIANA”. STORIE E CULTURE DI UNO SPAZIO ARCHITETTONICO, TECNOLOGICO E SOCIALE

In recent years, evolutionary processes, and exogenous events, including the pandemic, have led to a significant transformation of movie theatres in Italy. It therefore seems necessary to revisit the history and identity of this space, which has been widely disseminated throughout the territory for many decades and has represented for generations of spectators a form of privileged access to the cinema experience. On the one hand, the memory of spaces that have significantly marked the urban landscape and are often in a state of degradation and neglect should not be lost. On the other hand, only by being aware of what the heritage of Italian cinemas has represented, including the architectural, technological, cultural, and social aspects, is it possible to implement policies to enhance these spaces. The study of movie theatres in the national context has produced in recent years a growing number of research; however, the objective of restoring the complexity and stratification of the dynamics that go through the life of this space does not yet appear to have been achieved. Moreover, the investigation of such a complex entertainment environment (which fulfils a plurality of functions) must be approached through an interdisciplinary perspective, intertwining different skills. For example, overcoming the traditional separation between studies of architecture and those related to film consumption can give rise to more perspicuous readings and can intercept interrelated factors and aspects previously ignored. In the same way, the investigation of technical and technological equipment is becoming increasingly necessary to grasp the relationships between the different spaces and environments of movie theatres, their intended use, the cultural and social significance that these spaces present and the dynamics that affect the life of the premises themselves. Further factors of interest concern the topography of movie theatres, their spatial distribution in relation to the urban context, and in the different types of urban (as well as not-urban) agglomerations, also in an evolutionary perspective. Movie theatres also deserve to be investigated as concerns their communication and promotion: the image of the cinema itself has a crucial significance, until now completely neglected, for audiences and consumer behavior. In this regard, No. 14/2024 of the journal “Schermi” would like to host a series of cases and contexts of study or methodological-theoretical reflections that concern more aspects related to Italian movie theatres.