Anyone who has ever been to Rome is probably familiar with the Villa Borghese. At 80 hectares, the landscaped garden is the third largest public park in the city and one of the most culturally and historically significant. What you probably didn’t know, however, is that the park is home to the Borghese and Etruscan museums as well as the smallest cinema in the world.
This inconspicuous, green-painted wooden building stands out among the Renaissance and Baroque villas. Tickets are purchased through a small window next to the only entrance. Inside the building, a foyer, a screening room and a movie theater with just 65 seats await. And like everything else in the Eternal City, it is surprisingly old.
The ninety years of a tiny movie theater.
The “Cinema dei Piccoli“, as it is known, was founded in 1934 by cinema enthusiast Alfredo Annibali. At the time, it was still called the “House of Mickey Mouse” or “Casa di Topolino” because of the wooden sign at the entrance showing Mickey Mouse with a camera in his hand. The building was also made of wood and used a primitive projector to show the films. Mainly comedies and cartoons were shown here. However, just a few years after it opened, Disney Studios ordered the sign and name to be removed as they had infringed copyright. However, this did not stop the Romans from continuing to call the cinema “Topolino” for decades.
Over time, the small cinema slowly acquired its current cult status. After the war, it was reopened to the public and the programming was entrusted to some of Rome’s most famous film critics. In 1991, it was completely restored and equipped with a 5 x 2.5 m screen, a DTS music system and even air conditioning.
An award-winning record-breaking cinema
The “Cinema dei Piccoli” reached its peak in 2005 when it was named “the smallest building in the world for cinema screenings” by the Guinness Book of Records. With an area of 71.52 m² and a capacity of just 63 seats, nobody was really surprised. In addition, the “Dei Piccoli Film Festival” was launched in 2007, which is aimed at children.
Nowadays, however, films are also shown for adults, along with events, workshops and activities for the youngest. Almost ninety years after it was founded, the smallest cinema in the world is still a landmark and meeting place for Roman society.