Cinema of Italy
Overview
The history of Italian
cinema
began just a few months after the Lumière brothers
had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII
was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.
The Italian film industry took shape between 1903 and 1908, led by three major organizations - Cines, based in Rome; and the Turin
-based companies Ambrosio and Itala Film. Other companies were soon to follow in Milan
and Naples
, and these early companies quickly attained a respectable production quality and were able to market their products both within Italy and abroad.
Historical films were an early focus in Italy; the first work in the genre was Filoteo Alberini's 1905 film La presa di Roma ("The Capture of Rome").
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
began just a few months after the Lumière brothers
Auguste and Louis Lumière
The Lumière brothers, Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas and Louis Jean , were among the earliest filmmakers in history...
had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.
The Italian film industry took shape between 1903 and 1908, led by three major organizations - Cines, based in Rome; and the Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
-based companies Ambrosio and Itala Film. Other companies were soon to follow in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, and these early companies quickly attained a respectable production quality and were able to market their products both within Italy and abroad.
Historical films were an early focus in Italy; the first work in the genre was Filoteo Alberini's 1905 film La presa di Roma ("The Capture of Rome").
