Cinema Sivori

Cinema Sivori is a historic cinema located in Genoa, Italy, at Salita Santa Caterina 54R in the Portoria district, adjacent to Palazzo Doria-Spinola. It is widely regarded as the oldest cinema in Italy, having hosted the first film projection in the country on 30 May 1896, when the Lumière brothers' cinématographe screened L'arrivo di un treno alla stazione di La Ciotat and other short films. The venue originally opened in 1869 as Sala Sivori, a concert hall named after the Genoese violinist Ernesto Camillo Sivori, and over the decades it has served as a concert hall, theatre, and cinema. Since 2001 it has operated under the name Cinema Sivori, following restoration work. Today it is part of Circuito Cinema Genova, a network that manages several cinemas in the city, and it offers three screening rooms: Sala 1 (146 seats), Sala 2 (90 seats), and Sala 3 FilmClub (40 seats). The cinema is known for its commitment to quality and arthouse cinema, hosting film clubs and cultural events. Its long history includes associations with the Italian Socialist Party, which held its founding congress in the hall in 1892, as well as numerous musical and theatrical performances. The building itself dates back to the 16th-century stables of Palazzo Doria-Spinola. Cinema Sivori continues to be a cultural landmark in Genoa, combining modern projection technology with its historic legacy.

The Cinema Sivori is located in the ancient stables of Palazzo Doria-Spinola, built between 1541 and 1543. The conversion of these spaces into a concert hall was undertaken by maestro Giuseppe Bossola, with the participation of the Spinola marquises, who granted the building adjacent to their palace. On 28 December 1869, the hall was inaugurated as Sala Sivori, in honor of the great Genoese violinist Ernesto Camillo Sivori. The opening concert was held the following evening, preceded by a speech by Marquis d'Arcais on the need to enhance musical culture. In 1870, for Beethoven's centenary, the String Quintet in C major op. 29 was performed. In 1874 Rubinstein performed there, and in 1879 Sivori himself, accompanied by pianist Giovanni Rinaldi, performed Tartini's Il trillo del diavolo and other compositions. The hall later hosted opera, prose, magic lantern shows, and vaudeville. In November 1875, as part of a tour with cellist Alfredo Piatti, a concert was held by flautist Giulio Briccialdi with a nearly debutant Giuseppe Martucci on piano. On 14 and 15 August 1892, the Sala Sivori hosted the first congress that led to the birth of the Italian Socialist Party. Four hundred delegates from the Italian Workers' Party, the Milanese Socialist League, and numerous other workers' leagues gathered, with speeches by Filippo Turati, Angiolo Cabrini, Andrea Costa, Antonio Maffi, Camillo Prampolini, Gregorio Agnini, Giovanni Lerda, Anna Kuliscioff, and a message from Edmondo De Amicis was read. However, during the debate, delegates from 150 organizations left the anarchist component in the hall, and they met at Ristorante Schooner to found the Party of Italian Workers the next day. The party's founders included Filippo Turati and Guido Albertelli with Claudio Treves, Leonida Bissolati, Arcangelo Ghisleri, and Enrico Ferri, and in 1895 it changed its name to the Italian Socialist Party. The typographer and trade unionist Carlo Dell'Avalle was chosen as the first secretary. On 4 May 1895, the kinetoscope, precursor of film projectors, invented by Thomas Edison eight years earlier, was used in the hall for the first time. The following year, on 30 May 1896, the first actual film projection took place, using the Lumière brothers' cinématographe, screening the famous L'arrivo di un treno alla stazione di La Ciotat and other short films. In 1896-1897, filmmaker Luigi Sciutto projected some of his films. After a decade of mixed activity, from 1905 the hall became permanently a cinema, and took the name Cinematografo Reale - Sala Sivori. A serious fire in the 1930s damaged furnishings and equipment, and in 1939 a first renovation was undertaken, when the hall changed its name to Cinema Palazzo (referring to the adjacent Palazzo Doria-Spinola), a name kept until 2001. On the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the Italian Socialist Party, on 19 September 1952, Pietro Nenni gave a report at the Sala Sivori, with the participation of the last surviving congressmen of 1892, and the XXX Congress was convened in Milan in January 1953. On the ninetieth anniversary of the first Italian projection, the Cinémathèque française lent the hall the films that had been shown in world premiere on 28 December 1895 by the Lumière brothers at the Salon indien du Grand Café in Paris. The projection was held on 30 May 1986. On 15 May 1993, the cinema hosted a further meeting of the PSI, with president Gino Giugni and regional secretary Antonio Gozzi. On the occasion of the centenary of the first projection, on 20 May 1996, the cinema was renamed Sala Sivori for one evening, thanks to the work of set designer Emanuele Luzzati. On that occasion, the first Lumière projection was shown, along with silent films Le Merveilleux Éventail vivant (1904) and Le Raid Paris-Monte Carlo en 2 heures (1905) by Georges Méliès, The Great Train Robbery (1903) by Edwin S. Porter, and L'Odissea (1911) by Francesco Bertolini and Adolfo Padovan. The film Il silenzio è d'oro (1947) by René Clair was also screened. On 30 May 1996, silent comedies by Charlie Chaplin, Émile Cohl, André Deed, Buster Keaton, Hal Roach, and Harold Lloyd were shown, followed again by the first Lumière projection. In August 2000, a crew led by director Simona Ambrosio made a documentary on the history of the hall, broadcast in the following autumn on Stream TV. After restoration work, on 15 December 2001, the hall reopened, recovering the historic name Cinema Sivori, with the preview screening of the film Omicidio in Paradiso, and the presence of the protagonist Andrea Occhipinti as a guest. On 28 April 2012, the New Italian Socialist Party celebrated the 120th anniversary of its founding at the hall, with secretary Riccardo Nencini, Carme Chacòn, other guests, and the reading of a message from President Giorgio Napolitano. On 30 May 2016, on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the first projection, the films Vado a scuola and Francofonia were screened, with the presence of the mayor. Since 2000, the Cinema Sivori has been part of Circuito Cinema Genova, a network founded in partnership with Circuito Cinema Roma, which has restored and managed several historic cinemas in Genoa, including the Ariston, Odeon, City, Corallo, and America. The Sivori is the oldest cinema in Italy and continues to operate as a cultural and cinematic hub in Genoa.

• 2016

  120th anniversary of the first projection celebrated on 30 May with film screenings.

• 2012

  New Italian Socialist Party celebrates 120th anniversary at the hall on 28 April.

• 2001

  Reopened as Cinema Sivori on 15 December after restoration.

• 2000

  Documentary on the hall's history filmed in August; Circuito Cinema Genova founded.

• 1996

  Centenary of the first projection; hall renamed Sala Sivori for one evening on 20 May.

• 1986

  Cinémathèque française lends films for the 90th anniversary of the first Italian projection on 30 May.

• 1952

  Pietro Nenni speaks at the hall for the 60th anniversary of the Italian Socialist Party on 19 September.

• 1939

  First renovation after a fire; renamed Cinema Palazzo.

• 1905

  Hall becomes permanently a cinema, named Cinematografo Reale - Sala Sivori.

• 1896

  First film projection in Italy on 30 May using the Lumière brothers' cinématographe.

• 1895

  Kinetoscope used for the first time in the hall on 4 May.

• 1892

  First congress leading to the founding of the Italian Socialist Party held at Sala Sivori on 14-15 August.

• 1869

  Sala Sivori inaugurated as a concert hall on 28 December.

Historic arthouse cinema and cultural venue in Genoa, focused on quality and independent films.

• Sala 1

  146 seats (+2 disabled), 2K Christie CP2310 projector, Dolby IMS3000 server, 35mm Prevost P93, JBL speakers.

• Sala 2

  90 seats (+2 disabled), 2K NEC NC900 projector, Doremi D2K server, Dolby CP750 processor, JBL and Krix speakers.

• Sala 3 FilmClub

  40 seats, 2K FC proj Espandeo Supra projector, GDC SR1000 server, Dolby CP650 processor, KRK speakers.

1. 1Circuito Sivori – Circuito Cinema Genovacircuitocinemagenova.com
2. 2Chi Siamo – Circuito Cinema Genovacircuitocinemagenova.com
3. 3Cinema Sivori - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Cinema Sivori - Wikipedia (Italian)it.wikipedia.org