The Spatiality of Film Production and the Politics of Urban Planning: Rome’s Pioneering Film Studio Cines (1905–37)

ABSTRACT:Rome’s pioneering film production facility Cines (1905–37), the first ever to be built and the first ever to produce sound films in Italy, underwent a number of spatial, energy, and technological changes and additions. Approaching the history of this studio from a material and spatial perspective, I locate its infrastructural growth in the context of Rome’s rapid urbanization and shed light on the complex interaction among real-estate investments, political governance, and innovations in the film industry. By considering the forces behind Cines’s unsustainable expansion, I argue that we can better understand the genesis, and longevity, of its successor Cinecittà.