Fellini Museum Opens in Emilia Romagna, Italy (August 19)

The seaside city of Rimini, in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna, is welcoming a brand new museum dedicated to Federico Fellini next week, following last year’s centennial of the acclaimed Italian film director and screenwriter. 

The Federico Fellini International Museum will open on August 19, and will be the world’s largest museum devoted to the life, work and poetic heritage of Fellini, who was born and raised in Rimini and went on to become one of the most acclaimed filmmakers of the 20th Century. 

It will occupy Rimini’s Renaissance Sismondo Castle, the upper floors of the city’s art-nouveau Cinema Fulgor (where Fellini was first exposed to films) and the ‘Square of Dreams’, where video installations, augmented reality and pop up exhibits will be installed. Under the theme of “everything can be imagined”, these experiences will create an immersive walkway through different indoor and outdoor points in the filmmaker’s hometown, forming the Federico Fellini International Museum.  

A number of Fellini movie sets, such as the famous La Dolce Vita, will be replicated inside Sismondo Castle, which is Rimini’s 15th Century fortress and one of its most important monuments. Scenic materials and advanced digital technologies will be used to recreate iconic sets, enabling visitors to feel as though they are touching a real life Anita Ekberg; while original scripts, costumes, letters, documents and videos will be displayed throughout the castle for guests to explore.  

Additionally, Cinema Fulgor – where Fellini saw his first ever film, Maciste in Hell – will focus on studying the relationship between Federico Fellini and Rimini as well as the ‘internationalization’ of the film director. On the second floor, a “cinemino” (a little movie hall) will be set up to display Fellini movies on the big screen all day. 

Fellini was born in the city of Rimini, located on the Adriatic coast of Emilia Romagna, and spent his first 19 years there. Rimini is today one of Italy’s most popular family-friendly beach resort towns, and one of the largest and most famous in Europe, featuring 15km (~9.3 mi) of fine sandy beach with excellent bathing facilities. Much of Fellini’s cinematic art was inspired by his childhood memories from his hometown.   

Fellini remains recognized as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. Born in January 1920, Fellini’s career spanned almost 50 years until his death in 1993, at the age of 73. During this time, he was known for creating a number of internationally-acclaimed films, many of which have been listed as some of the greatest movies of all time, including the likes of La Dolce Vita, The Nights of Cabiria and La Strada. His achievements were also reflected through his awards, where he won the Palme d’Or for La Dolce Vita, and was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, winning four in the category of Best Foreign Language Film, the most for any director in the history of the Academy. At the 65th Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, he also received an honorary award for Lifetime Achievement. 

For more information on the region of Emilia Romagna, visit www.emiliaromagnaturismo.it/en