in Villa Borghese in Rome the smallest room in the world
In the heart of Villa Borghese, the Cinema dei Piccoli has been active since 1934. It is the smallest cinema in the world and also includes activities and events for children.
Walking among the pines of Villa Borghese, a step away from Piazza del Popolo and the famous Via del Corso, the Roman shopping area par excellence, you can come across the Cinema dei Piccoli. Apparently the building, very small, is a green painted house on whose surface the red writing, a little vintage, of “Cinema of the Little ones“.
On the entrance facade, in addition to a bulletin board with space for the various film posters and the calendar of activities, there is a wider frame to host posters of the films to be enhanced.
the whole cinema programming, it must be remembered that, in addition to a film suitable for children, it includes the original projection, with subtitles, of arthouse: it is the cinema itself, that is, that chooses which films to project according to its preferences.
Almost ninety years of business
The room of what is now the Cinema dei Piccoli was born in 1934. To make the small building more attractive, the word Cinema dei Piccoli was added to that of “Mickey’s house”. A few years later, the outline of baby mouse with a movie camera in his hands (or between his paws?) until the owner is warned by Walt Disney himself. In this period the programming is designed only for the little ones, with the projections of animated films and those of comic films.
After a first arrest in the war period, he experienced a new crisis in the seventies, when the internal streets of Villa Borghese were closed to the public and, to cope with this moment, the cinema adds the arthouse programming in the evening for an adult audience.
Now known as “Piccolo d’Essai”, after the change of management it was closed for maintenance until 1991, when it opens up to new forms of entertainment for the little ones. With films, workshops, trips inside Villa Borghese and visits to the museum, the Cinema dei Piccoli begins to play the role we know today and also opens up to experience in schools.
A small cinema for small cinephiles
The Cinema dei Piccoli, just like the spectators who attend it during the day and who give it its name, has always been counted among the youngest. In 2005, however, it was truly judged the smallest room used as a cinema in the world: with its just 63 seats for a 5 × 2.5 meter screen, the recognition came in 2005 directly from Guinness World Record.
The following year, however, he distinguished himself for having received the award FICE, Italian Federation of Essai Cinema, for its role in auteur and children’s cinema.
Starting from 2007 for eight years, the Dei Piccoli Filmfesti was awarded, for the development and care in the creation of cinema for children.
How to get to the cinema in the park
The Cinema dei Piccoli is located inside Villa Borghese, specifying in viale della Pineta 15, to the side of Porta Pinciana. Reaching the cinema is easy: by public transport you have the possibility to arrive either by using the underground, getting off at the Flaminio, Spagna or Barberini stops of line A; while the buses that pass nearby are 120F, 150F, 160, 490, 495, 590, 61, 89, C3, N1, N25.
Timetable and cost of tickets
To view the films in programming it will be necessary to obtain a ticket costing 6, 50 euros, both on weekdays and on holidays or the premiere; for schools it varies from 7 to 13 depending on the chosen itinerary. It is also possible to subscribe by choosing between the 10-entry package, for 45 euros, and the 6-entry package for 29 euros.
To get in touch with the Cinema dei Piccoli, two different telephone numbers are available, one for individuals and the other for schools, but for any information you can consult the website www.cinemadeipiccoli.com or send an email info @ cinemadeipiccoli.com.
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