"Riccardo Ghilardi. Piano sequenza la Mole" exhibition in Turin

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Museo Nazionale del Cinema at the Mole Antonelliana, the Gallerie d'Italia – Turin present the exhibition Riccardo Ghilardi. Piano sequenza la Mole, curated by Domenico De Gaetano and open to the public from 12 November 2025 to 1 March
2026.

The Museo Nazionale del Cinema is one of the most important cinema museums in the world for the wealth of its heritage, the variety of its activities and its spectacular setting inside the Mole Antonelliana, a monument that symbolises the city of Turin.

The exhibition celebrates the union between the magic of cinema and architecture and narrates, like a long sequence shot, the history of film from its origins to the present day, the Mole and the Museum's collections, thanks also to the involvement of leading figures from the national and international film industry.

Guided by the creative eye of Riccardo Ghilardi, actors and directors have interpreted the museum's scenographic layout, including spaces that are not open to the public – such as the underground passages and labyrinths – and those that are impossible to visit – such as the exterior of the large dome – in their own personal way, transforming the Mole into a stunningly impressive set.

The artists photographed by Ghilardi and listed below strictly in  alphabetical order are: Mathieu Amalric, Artem, Bérénice Bejo, Monica Bellucci, Barbara Bouchet, Tim Burton, Massimiliano Caiazzo, Damien Chazelle, Matilda De Angelis, Tonino De Bernardi, Willem Defoe, Silvia D’Amico, Xavier Dolan, Rupert Everett, Asghar Farhadi, Isabella Ferrari, Alessandro Gassmann, Giancarlo Giannini, Peter Greenaway, Michel Hazanavicius, Ron Howard, Pablo Larraín, Luca Marinelli, Malcolm McDowell, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Paola Minaccioni, Terry Notary, Ruben Östlund, Domenico Procacci, Barbara Ronchi, Rosa Diletta Rossi, Zoe Saldana, Greta Scarano, Paul Schrader, Martin Scorsese, Kasia Smutniak, Kevin Spacey, Sharon Stone, Vince Vaughn, Carlo Verdone.

The photographs can be interpreted in multiple ways because each participant experienced the adventure in their own way, so each photograph tells a different story. Some are captured in moments of everyday life, as if the Mole were their home, sipping tea in their dressing
gowns, others wanted to interpret their forbidden dreams by dancing on the dome, many took the opportunity to browse through the Museum's collections, reading scripts or playing with the magic lanterns, while others were interested in the Museum's displays. Some photographs are clear references to masterpieces of the history of film – Mary Poppins, Roma Città Aperta, A Clockwork Orange, The Red Shoes – while many others seem to come from films yet to be made.

The final effect creates the impression of viewing numerous frames from a single film dedicated to cinema, the Mole Antonelliana and Turin.

 Through the Gallerie d’Italia App and QR Codes along the exhibition itinerary, visitors can explore exclusive multimedia content, including behind-the-scenes footage and testimonials from the artists involved.

Visitors who show their Gallerie d'Italia admission ticket to the exhibition will be granted reduced admission to the Museo Nazionale del Cinema.

Born in Rome in 1971, he travelled after completing his studies and devoted his time to photography, producing reportages for major publications. In 2007, he exhibited “Pensieri nel silenzio” (Thoughts in Silence) at FotoLeggendo. The following year, he entered the world of cinema with his portrait project “Lo sguardo non mente” (The Eyes Don't Lie), presented at numerous festivals and institutional venues, including the Venice International Film Festival. Next came “Donne in Luce” (Women in Light) (2013) and portraits for Save The Children at EXPO 2015. With “Three Minutes” (2018) he won the Gold Award at PX3 in Paris. During the Covid pandemic, he created ‘Prove di Libertà’ (“Trials of Freedom”), exhibited at MAXXI and the Venice International Film Festival, where the book received the PX3 bronze award. Since 2011, he has been a portrait photographer for the international agency Contour by Getty Images.