Mole Antonelliana and Turin’s brick skyline

Mole Antonelliana rises over Turin in brick and glass, with a museum inside and a skyline view that changes every approach.

Mole Antonelliana rises over Turin as a vast brick landmark with a sharp profile and a museum inside. Begun by Alessandro Antonelli in 1863 and completed in 1889, it remains one of the city’s clearest historical markers.

A brick landmark in Turin’s skyline

The building’s scale is part of its identity. At 167.5 metres, it was the tallest brick building in Europe when it was completed, and that height still defines its silhouette. The name of Alessandro Antonelli is tied to the building’s form as closely as its masonry.

Its present role as the home of the Museo Nazionale del Cinema adds a second layer to the structure. The museum occupies a building that began with nineteenth-century civic ambition and has kept its strong vertical presence in the city.

Alessandro Antonelli’s Turin monument

Antonelli began the project in 1863, and the completed building dates from 1889. Those dates place it in the long final stretch of the nineteenth century, when Turin was reworking its public image after Italian unification. The structure is one of the city’s major works associated with Antonelli, whose name also appears in the building’s own title.

The building was initially conceived as a synagogue and later passed to the Municipality of Turin. That change of use is part of its history, but the building itself still reads as a monumental shell of brick, crowned by a tall vertical finish and anchored by a large central volume.

Inside the dome and museum

Inside, the Mole is organised around the cinema museum, which gives the building a very different public life from the one first imagined for it. The interior sequence includes exhibition spaces and a panoramic lift, and the building also allows access on foot through the dome cavity to the terrace.

The terrace sits high above the city and keeps the building’s vertical character central to the visit. The physical experience is tied to the structure itself: brick walls, a great internal void and a top level that sits well above Turin’s surrounding streets.

Visiting Mole Antonelliana: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The building stands in Turin on Via Montebello. It is reached through the city centre, and the Museo Nazionale del Cinema occupies its interior.
• The climb on foot runs through the cavity of the dome and up stairs. The panoramic lift provides a second route to the terrace.
• The official language is Italian and the currency is the euro.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about Mole Antonelliana

Where is Mole Antonelliana?

It stands in Turin, on Via Montebello. The building is a major city landmark and houses the Museo Nazionale del Cinema.

What should be expected on a visit?

The interior combines museum spaces with access to a terrace above the city. Visitors can go up by lift or on foot through the dome cavity.

What makes Mole Antonelliana distinctive?

Its 167.5-metre height and brick construction give it a strong presence in Turin. The building’s history also runs from an intended synagogue to a cultural landmark.